Morocco’s Internal Debt Touches $59 Bln

File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Morocco’s Internal Debt Touches $59 Bln

File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Data released by Morocco’s General Treasury revealed that the Kingdom’s internal debt, after experiencing a 2.2 percent hike since the start of 2019, stood at 561 billion dirhams ($59.05 billion) last May. 

The rise was traced back to the treasury resorting to withdraw a net amount of 8.7 billion dirhams ($915.8 million) from the Kingdom’s tender market as investors signed new bonds worth 55.5 billion dirhams ($5.85 billion) and 46.8 billion dirhams ($5 billion).

Whilst implementing this year’s general budget, the government experienced a funding shortage of 24.7 billion dirhams ($2.6 billion). This shortfall was financed by borrowing from the local financial market at 19.3 billion dirhams ($2.03 billion), while 5.5 billion dirhams (580 million dollars) was raised through foreign borrowing.

As for foreign debt, the government borrowed 9.5 billion dirhams ($1 billion), distributed between the World Bank at 7.1 billion dirhams ($747.4 million) and Arab Development Bank at 2.3 billion dirhams (242 million dollars).

The total debt of the Moroccan government stands at 720 billion dirhams ($76 billion), 78 percent of which is in internal debt and 22 percent in external debt.



Iraq, Saudi, Russia Stress Need for Stable Oil Market ahead of OPEC+ Meeting

A 3D printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed stock graph and Opec logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
A 3D printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed stock graph and Opec logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Iraq, Saudi, Russia Stress Need for Stable Oil Market ahead of OPEC+ Meeting

A 3D printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed stock graph and Opec logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
A 3D printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed stock graph and Opec logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

OPEC+ members Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed in a meeting in Iraq on Tuesday on the importance of maintaining stable oil markets and fair prices, Iraq's Prime Minister Office said on Tuesday.

The talks come ahead of Sunday's meeting of OPEC+, which comprises the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, where OPEC+ sources say it will weigh a possible further delay to plans to raise oil output.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak attended the meeting.

They discussed "the conditions of global energy markets and matters related to the production of crude oil, its flow to markets, and meeting demand," the prime minister's office said, Reuters reported.

"The importance of maintaining stability, balance, and fair prices was emphasised, while stressing the vital role played by the OPEC+ group in this regard," the office added.

Russian energy minister Sergei Tsivilev and deputy energy minister Pavel Sorokin were also present, according to a photo posted on the X account of the Iraqi prime minister's media office.

OPEC+, which pumps around half the world's oil, has already delayed a plan to gradually lift production by several months this year because of falling prices, weak demand and rising production outside the group.

Despite OPEC+'s cuts and delays to output hikes, oil prices have mostly stayed in a $70-$80 per barrel range this year and on Tuesday were trading below $74 a barrel, not far above a 2024 low reached in September.

Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov told Reuters on Monday OPEC+ may at Sunday's meeting consider leaving its current oil output cuts in place from Jan. 1. The meeting will be held online, OPEC+ sources said.