Romanians send less money from abroad

Money Romanians earn from working abroad (remittances) dropped by about one third in July, outlining a trend that started this spring. Current transfers, 90% of which account for remittances from abroad, dropped to 299 million euros in July, one third less than the 443 million euros seen in July 2005, according to data published by the National Bank.. The drop in transfers is all the more surprising, given that usually, July witnesses a rise in remittances, due to Romanians working abroad returning home for holidays. They would also bring home a lot of the money they had saved, contributing to the appreciation of the RON against the euro during summer months. The money Romanians earn from working abroad sustains the balance of payments. As a result, the first seven months of the year saw current transfers drop by almost 3%, reaching 1.85 billion euros. Last year, Romanians from abroad transferred some 3.65 billion euros officially. Estimates for this year were pointing to an increase exceeding 25%, to 4.6 billion euros.