Remittances Sent Home by Mexicans Hits $20B

MEXICO CITY — Remittances sent home by Mexicans living abroad, mostly in the United States, jumped to a record $20.035 billion last year, up 20 percent compared with 2004, Mexico’s central bank said Tuesday.

Remittances from an estimated 10 million Mexicans living in the U.S. have in recent years grown to become the third largest source of foreign income for Mexico after oil exports and tourism.

Experts attribute the rise in recorded transfers to better tracking of funds sent back home, the growing number of migrants working in the U.S. and increasing prosperity among their ranks.

Along with high oil prices which bring extra cash into the oil-exporting nation’s coffers, remittances are cited as a key pillar shoring up Mexico’s strong peso currency.