Foreign remittances by expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia reached SR10.6 billion ($2.82 billion) in June 2018 as against SR12.75 billion in the previous month, marking a decrease of 16.9 per cent, a media report said.

Remittances during June recorded a slight growth of 1.7 per cent compared to the same month in 2017, when the amount was about SR10.43 billion, reported Saudi Gazette, citing report prepared by Al-Eqtisadiah business daily on the basis of data provided by Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (Sama).

Foreign remittances of expats during the first half of this year totalled SR71.06 billion against SR71.02 billion during the same period in 2017, showing an increase of SR45 million or 0.1 per cent, the report said.

Saudi remittances abroad in the first half of this year reached SR33.01 billion compared to SR27.58 billion during the same period last year, registering a growth of 19.7 per cent or SR5.43 billion.

In terms of monthly performance, the report recorded a significant decline of 42 per cent in June compared to May as the remittances amounted to SR3.44 billion only in June against SR5.93 billion in May.

Remittances by Saudis increased by 13.3 per cent or SR404 million in June 2018 compared to the same month in 2017 when the amount was SR3.03 billion.