OREANDA-NEWS. September 12, 2011. The pace of increase in remittances made by private people dropped to 14.6 per cent last July, which is below the 20.8-per-cent increase recorded in the first half of 2011, according to data the National Bank of Moldova (BNM) made public.

This runs counter to economists' expectations, who forecast a higher growth pace.

The transfers made by resident and non-resident private people stood at 138.21 million dollars in July 2011, against 120.54 million in July 2010. In the first seven months of 2011, the remittances amounted to 781.23 million dollars, up by 126 million dollars against the same period of the year before. At least 40 per cent of the last July transfers were made in dollars, 42.7 per cent in euros and 17.3 per cent in Russian roubles. The quota of transfers made in roubles was the highest one in 2011.

Although the remittances grew by 19.1 per cent in January-July 2011, the transfers' values is far from the level recorded in the same period of 2008, the year that preceded the crisis, when the remittances reached 936.67 million dollars.

In its third inflation report, the BNM said that the quota of transfers made by Moldovan citizens working in the Commonwealth of Independent States accounted for 63 per cent, while the rest of the money - 37 percent - came from other countries in January-June 2011.