YEREVAN, May 2. /ARKA/. Private remittances sent to Armenia in 2016 March through banks for non-commercial purposes increased by 3.4% from the previous month to more than $52.4 million, the Central Bank of Armenia said. It also said when compared with 2015 March the remittances were down by 2.9%.

The amount of remittances from Armenia abroad in 2016 March totaled about $33.9 million, an increase of 0.7% from the previous month and a 14.7% increase from 2015 March.

The net inflow of remittances in 2016 March amounted to approximately $18.5 million, which was by 8.8% more from the previous month, but when compared to 2015 March the amount was down by 24.1%.

More than half of the remittances- 55% of the total or  $28.8 million - came from the Russian Federation. They were 28% more than in February 2016 and 1% down from 2015 March. Remittances from Armenia to Russia in 2016 March were 4.5% more from 2016 February and 50.3% more from 2015 March.

In 2015 private remittances to Armenia slashed by 30% from the previous year to $1.208 5 billion because of the dramatic depreciation of the Russian ruble and a decline of Russian economy.-0-