Reuters
Morocco’s trade deficit was 159.69 billion dirhams ($18 billion) at the end of October, 5.6 percent less than a year earlier, reflecting a rise in exports, the foreign exchange regulator said on Monday.
Exports rose 8.2 percent to 164.58 billion dirhams in the first 10 months of 2014, with goods sold overseas by the auto sector surging 29.3 percent and electronics exports jumping 25.3 percent. Aviation exports climbed 2 percent.
The regulator said imports the value of imports was 1 percent higher at the end of October than a year before, at 324.27 billion dirhams. That was mainly the result of a near-doubling in wheat imports, to 10.76 billion dirhams.
Energy imports fell 4.4 percent to 81.6 billion dirhams compared with the same period of 2013 as the economy slowed.
Tourism receipts increased by 1 percent to 49.9 billion dirhams, while remittances from the 4.5 million Moroccans living abroad rose 0.7 percent to 49.84 billion dirhams.
Figures are in billions of dirhams:
Jan-Oct Jan-Oct Jan-Sept
2014 2013 2014 EXPORTS 164.59 152.12 147.25IMPORTS 324.27 321.19 290.70BALANCE -159.69 -169.07 -143.45MIGRANTREMITTANCES 49.84 49.52 44.79TOURISMRECEIPTS 49.89 49.42 44.89FOREIGN DIRECTINVESTMENT 20.97 21.93 19.10
(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Catherine Evans),
