Reuters
By Aziz El Yaakoubi)
Morocco’s trade deficit fell 20.5 percent to 92.38 billion dirhams ($9.45 billion) in the first seven months of 2015 compared with a year earlier, due to lower energy imports as oil prices fell, the foreign exchange regulator said on Tuesday.
The trade gap was down from 116.23 billion dirhams at the end of July 2014, as energy imports fell by 28.7 percent from a year earlier to 41.70 billion dirhams, data showed. Morocco is a net energy importer.
Wheat import prices fell 30 percent as the local harvest hit a record high this year, the regulator said.
Total exports rose 6.3 percent from a year earlier to 126.70 billion dirhams, led by an 18 percent rise in auto exports and 17 percent hike in phosphate sales.
Tourism receipts dropped 3.1 percent, while remittances from the 4.5 million Moroccans living abroad rose 5.5 percent. Foreign direct investment jumped 18.2 percent to 20.71 billion dirhams.
