Kenya remittance inflows up 20% yr/yr in 2021 - central bank

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Remittance inflows into Kenya surged by a fifth last year to hit a record $3.72 billion, the central bank said on Friday.

Along with farm exports and tourism, the funds are a key source of foreign exchange and are tracked by traders.

"The cumulative inflows in 2021 were a record of $3,718 million ... a 20.2% increase," the bank said in its weekly bulletin on Friday.

The full year 2021 remittances were above a September central bank forecast of $3.4 billion.

The bank said December's remittances of $350.6 million were also an all-time monthly record.

(Reporting by George Obulutsa; editing by Jonathan Oatis)