Morocco’s Internal Debt Reaches $59.3 Bn

Morocco’s Internal Debt Reaches $59.3 Bn
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Morocco’s Internal Debt Reaches $59.3 Bn

Morocco’s Internal Debt Reaches $59.3 Bn

Morocco's internal debt stood at $59.3 billion at the end of July, up 2.7 percent from the beginning of the year, reaching 49.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

The government resorted to borrowing $7.2 billion in the tender market of treasury bonds during the first seven months of this year instead of $6.81 billion during the same period last year, according to a bulletin issued by the General Treasury of the Kingdom.

The General Treasury said that the debt of the Moroccan government has become 61.63 percent of bonds over ten years, compared to 58 percent at the end of July last year.

The bulletin associated this development to the continued Treasury’s dynamic management of indebtedness by replacing short-term loans with long-term ones.

During the first seven months of this year, these operations included loans worth nearly $3.2 billion, which were almost entirely converted from loans with a maturity of less than 10 years to loans over 10 years.

In this context, the value of the amounts paid by the government for the internal debt increased 13.2 percent to reach $1.89 billion at the end of July, compared to $1.67 billion during the same period last year.



Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
TT

Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

Gold prices rose over 1% to hit a two-week peak on Friday, heading for the best weekly performance in more than a year, buoyed by safe-haven demand as Russia-Ukraine tensions intensified.

Spot gold jumped 1.3% to $2,703.05 per ounce as of 1245 GMT, hitting its highest since Nov. 8. US gold futures gained 1.1% to $2,705.30.

Bullion rose despite the US dollar hitting a 13-month high, while bitcoin hit a record peak and neared the $100,000 level.

"With both gold and USD (US dollar) rising, it seems that safe-haven demand is lifting both assets," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Ukraine's military said its drones struck four oil refineries, radar stations and other military installations in Russia, Reuters reported.

Gold has gained over 5% so far this week, its best weekly performance since October 2023. Prices have gained around $173 after slipping to a two-month low last week.

"We understand that the price setback has been used by 'Western world' investors under-allocated to gold to build exposure considering the geopolitical risks that are still around. So we continue to expect gold to rise further over the coming months," Staunovo said.

Bullion tends to shine during geopolitical tensions, economic risks, and a low interest rate environment. Markets are pricing in a 59.4% chance of a 25-basis-points cut at the Fed's December meeting, per the CME Fedwatch tool.

However, "if Fed skips or pauses its rate cut in December, that will be negative for gold prices and we could see some pullback," said Soni Kumari, a commodity strategist at ANZ.

The Chicago Federal Reserve president reiterated his support for further US interest rate cuts on Thursday.

On Friday, spot silver rose 1.8% to $31.34 per ounce, platinum eased 0.1% to $960.13 and palladium fell 0.6% to $1,023.55. All three metals were on track for a weekly rise.