By PATRICIA ESTRADA / Al Día

Remittances sent by Mexicans living abroad to their hometowns reached record numbers from January to November 2005, according to a report issued this week by Mexico's central bank.

The report shows that Mexicans sent almost $18.3 billion back to their country. That is an increase of 20.43 percent over the same period in 2004.

According to Banco de México, remittances continue as the second-greatest source of revenue for the country, behind petroleum. Between January and November 2005, oil revenues reached $25.7 billion.

Remittances exceeded revenues generated by tourism in Mexico, although exact figures for that part of the economy weren't available.

Most of the money was sent by immigrants from the states of Zacatecas, Michoacán, Jalisco and Guanajuato. If this trend continued through the end of the year, 2005 remittances could exceed $20 billion.

Explanations experts offered for the increase in remittances included a new wave of immigrants and tracking improvements that make remittances easier to measure.