CAIRO (Reuters) – Remittances from Egyptians abroad increased by 20 percent year-on-year in the three months following the country’s November currency float, totalling about $5 billion, a central bank statement said on Monday.

Remittances for the month of January were up 23 percent year-on-year, reaching $1.6 billion, the statement said.

The central bank floated the Egyptian pound on Nov. 3, aiming to unlock foreign currency inflows and crush a black market for dollars that had discouraged people from channelling foreign currency through the banking system.

(Reporting by Ehab Farouk; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Toby Chopra)