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Tunisian President Appoints New Central Bank Governor

Fahmi Zouhair Al-Nouri takes the constitutional oath before President Kais Saied at the Carthage Palace (Reuters)
Fahmi Zouhair Al-Nouri takes the constitutional oath before President Kais Saied at the Carthage Palace (Reuters)
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Tunisian President Appoints New Central Bank Governor

Fahmi Zouhair Al-Nouri takes the constitutional oath before President Kais Saied at the Carthage Palace (Reuters)
Fahmi Zouhair Al-Nouri takes the constitutional oath before President Kais Saied at the Carthage Palace (Reuters)

Tunisian President Kais Saied appointed Fahmi Zouhair Al-Nouri as the new governor of the Central Bank on Thursday, replacing Marwan Abbasi.

Al-Nouri, 69, a member of the Central Bank’s Board since 2016 and an economics professor specializing in energy issues, is taking charge amid tough economic times marked by slow growth and high unemployment.

His appointment comes after Parliament approved changes to allow the Central Bank to provide exceptional funding for the budget deficit. This move aims to alleviate some of the economic strain, including $16 billion in external debts.

Previously, Tunisia had a preliminary agreement with the IMF for a $2 billion loan, but negotiations stalled when Saied rejected IMF-recommended reforms, citing concerns over their impact on the economy.

Former Central Bank Governor Marwan Abbasi warned that the loan would lead to “a decline in foreign exchange reserves with potential negative repercussions on the Tunisian dinar.”

Al-Nouri faces the task of managing an economy that grew only by 0.4% in 2023 due to severe drought, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

According to the INS, Tunisia's unemployment rate rose to 16.4% at the end of 2023 compared to 15.2% at the end of 2022.

Also, the country experiences high inflation rates (around 8% over one year), fueled by rising prices of grains and energy linked to the Russian war on Ukraine.

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Russia's Central Bank Holds Off on Interest Rate Hike

People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
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Russia's Central Bank Holds Off on Interest Rate Hike

People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People skate at an ice rink installed at the Red Square decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, with the St. Basil's Cathedral, left, and the Kremlin, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russia's central bank has left its benchmark interest rate at 21%, holding off on further increases as it struggles to snuff out inflation fueled by the government's spending on the war against Ukraine.
The decision comes amid criticism from influential business figures, including tycoons close to the Kremlin, that high rates are putting the brakes on business activity and the economy.
According to The Associated Press, the central bank said in a statement that credit conditions had tightened “more than envisaged” by the October rate hike that brought the benchmark to its current record level.
The bank said it would assess the need for any future increases at its next meeting and that inflation was expected to fall to an annual 4% next year from its current 9.5%
Factories are running three shifts making everything from vehicles to clothing for the military, while a labor shortage is driving up wages and fat enlistment bonuses are putting more rubles in people's bank accounts to spend. All that is driving up prices.
On top of that, the weakening Russian ruble raises the prices of imported goods like cars and consumer electronics from China, which has become Russia's biggest trade partner since Western sanctions disrupted economic relations with Europe and the US.
High rates can dampen inflation but also make it more expensive for businesses to get the credit they need to operate and invest.
Critics of the central bank rates and its Governor Elvira Nabiullina have included Sergei Chemezov, the head of state-controlled defense and technology conglomerate Rostec, and steel magnate Alexei Mordashov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin opened his annual news conference on Thursday by saying the economy is on track to grow by nearly 4% this year and that while inflation is “an alarming sign," wages have risen at the same rate and that "on the whole, this situation is stable and secure.”
He acknowledged there had been criticism of the central bank, saying that “some experts believe that the Central Bank could have been more effective and could have started using certain instruments earlier.”
Nabiullina said in November that while the economy is growing, “the rise in prices for the vast majority of goods and services shows that demand is outrunning the expansion of economic capacity and the economy’s potential.”
Russia's military spending is enabled by oil exports, which have shifted from Europe to new customers in India and China who aren't observing sanctions such as a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil sales.