Despite a surge in the outflow of migrant workers, remittances to Bangladesh declined 16.27 per cent year-on-year to $1.68 billion in April, an unpromising development that may deepen the volatility in the economy.

A Bangladesh Bank official said the hundi cartel, an illegal cross-boundary financial transaction, is mainly responsible for the slide in remittance.

Remittances, however, slightly increased 2.36 per cent year-on-year to $17.71 billion in the first 10 months of this fiscal year, data from the Bangladesh Bank showed.

The country's foreign exchange reserves also fell below $31 billion on April 30 amid the downward trend of remittances, which is one of the major sources for the state coffer.