Morocco: Growth falling short – official

Morocco would probably struggle to meet this year’s economic growth target as sluggish lending and a drop in exports offset increased farm output, a government official said yesterday. The economy would expand 3.5 percent to 4 percent this year instead of the 4.5 percent forecast in the budget, said the official who has seen the data and asked not to be identified as the figures had not been made public. UK risk consultant Maplecroft said sluggish growth jeopardised efforts to trim the budget deficit, which the International Monetary Fund forecasts will narrow for the first time in five years. – Bloomberg