RABAT, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Morocco’s trade deficit rose 5 percent in January-September from a year earlier, the foreign exchange regulator said on Monday, raising the chances the country might have to dip into an IMF facility due to dwindling foreign currency reserves. The trade shortfall rose to 144.2 billion dirhams ($16.8 billion) although the year-to-year rise was less marked than the 6.1 percent increase in January-August. Credit-rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Morocco’s outlook to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’ last week, citing risks created by fiscal and current account deficits and fed by the crisis in the euro zone, its main business partner. The warning could hurt Morocco’s maiden dollar sovereign bond issue in November. The euro zone crisis has also weighed on tourism receipts, which fell 3.6 percent in the year to end-September, but this drop too was smaller than a 5 percent percent fall in January-August. Foreign currency reserves by Oct. 4 stood at 134 billion dirhams, barely enough to cover four months of import needs. The ratio exceeded five months a year earlier. However, Morocco can fall back on a $6.2 billion credit line granted by the International Monetary Fund in August. Morocco’s economic growth is expected to slow to around 2 to 3 percent this year from 4.9 percent in 2011, while a smaller domestic harvest and rising commodity prices mean it will have to import more agricultural products and at a higher price. The rising price of oil will also boost its import costs. The foreign exchange regulator released the following data on the country’s trade, tourism receipts, transfers by Moroccan migrants and private foreign loans and investment (PFLIs) for January-September. All figures are in billions of dirhams.
Jan-Sept Jan-Sept Jan-Aug 2012 2011 2012
EXPORTS 133.94 129.04 119.98 IMPORTS 278.15 266.56 248.63 BALANCE -144.20 -137.52 -128.65
MIGRANTS 42.64 44.12 38.07
TOURISM 43.74 45.36 38.41
PFLIs * 20.81 21.72 18.37 (*) Private foreign loans and investment For further details (in French) double click on: here%20publications%20statistiques/INDICATEURS%20PRELIMINAIRES%20DES%20ECHANGES%20EXTERIEURS%20SEPTEMBRE%202012.pdf ($1 = 8.5832 Moroccan dirhams) (Reporting By Souhail Karam; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
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