Remittance inflows from the United States to Jamaica grew almost 12 percent for the first quarter of the fiscal year, so far defying expectations that private cross-border money flows would have taken a cue from the sluggish U.S. economy and hit a downturn.

Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance, Senator Don Wehby, who announced the increase, said remittances for the first quarter totaled $498.6 million.

“That’s about an 11.8 percent increase over the previous year,” Wehby said at an investor’s forum hosted by the brokerage house, Mayberry Investments Limited.

An 11 percent increase

Last year, remittances to Jamaica topped $1.9 billion, which according to the Planning Institute of Jamaica was an 11 percent increase over 2006.

But with the U.S. economy largely flat, the remittance and tourism sectors were expected to be the most heavily impacted.

Indeed, the Bank of Jamaica said this month that if a recession were to hit the United States, the pass through effect would be felt largely in those two sectors, and could potentially erode 0.4 percent from the 3 percent GDP growth target for the fiscal year. But tourism, coming out of the peak winter season, which ended in April, has reported improved numbers.

And fiscal manager Wehby also has current remittance numbers before him that so far defy any indication of a downturn.

Wehby said he was not surprised that remittance inflows into Jamaica had actually increased.

“Because if you look at the average size of a remittance coming into this country, which is about $250 to $300, and when you even look behind that number, about 80 to 90 percent is used for consumption,” he said.

“Jamaicans living overseas see this as an obligation to ensure that their families can meet their basic needs.”