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Morocco: External Debt Exceeds $35.3b

A Moroccan woman counts change at a vegetable market in Casablanca. (Reuters)
A Moroccan woman counts change at a vegetable market in Casablanca. (Reuters)
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Morocco: External Debt Exceeds $35.3b

A Moroccan woman counts change at a vegetable market in Casablanca. (Reuters)
A Moroccan woman counts change at a vegetable market in Casablanca. (Reuters)

Morocco’s external debt reached MD337.84 billion (USD35.3 billion) at the end of June, registering an increase of around 3.4 percent compared to the beginning of the year.

The distribution of this debt by hard currency shows the continued dominance of the euro despite the decline in its share during the past five years for the benefit of the American dollar.

The total indebtedness in Euro reached 60.2 percent end of June, followed by the American dollar with 28.4 percent then Japanese yen with 3.6 percent.

The dollar share saw a continuous rise in the past five years, from 17.9 percent in 2014 to 28.4 percent currently. However, the euro share has been on the opposite track, dropping from 68.8 percent in 2014 to 60.2 percent today.

According to the credit parties, the share of the IMF and commercial banks reached 23.9 percent. Remarkably, it hiked by 4.82 percent compared to the beginning of the year.

The funding received by Morocco from multilateral international institutions represents the lion’s share in the external debt (49.5 percent). Debt from bilateral sources totaled 26.6 percent.

Further, Morocco’s external debt distribution based on the borrowing parties shows that the government’s treasury registered 45.8 percent of this debt at the end of June, while the public institutions reached 53.5 percent.

However the share of other parties such as municipalities and banks registered 0.7 percent of the total external debt.

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Inflation Rose to 2.3% in Europe. That Won't Stop the Central Bank from Cutting Interest Rates

A view shows the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry as a metro operated by the Paris transport network RATP passes over the Pont de Bercy bridge in Paris, France, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
A view shows the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry as a metro operated by the Paris transport network RATP passes over the Pont de Bercy bridge in Paris, France, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
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Inflation Rose to 2.3% in Europe. That Won't Stop the Central Bank from Cutting Interest Rates

A view shows the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry as a metro operated by the Paris transport network RATP passes over the Pont de Bercy bridge in Paris, France, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
A view shows the Bercy Economy and Finance Ministry as a metro operated by the Paris transport network RATP passes over the Pont de Bercy bridge in Paris, France, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro currency rose in November — but that likely won’t stop the European Central Bank from cutting interest rates as the prospect of new US tariffs from the incoming Trump administration adds to the gloom over weak growth.
The European Union’s harmonized index of consumer prices stood up 2.3% in the year to November, up from 2.0% in October, the EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Friday.
Energy prices fell 1.9% from a year ago, but that was offset by price increases of 3.9% in the services sector, a broad category including haircuts, medical treatment, hotels and restaurants, and sports and entertainment, The Associated Press reported.
Inflation has come down a long way from the peak of 10.6% in October 2022 as the ECB quickly raised rates to cool off price rises. It then started cutting them in June as worries about growth came into sharper focus.
High central bank benchmark rates combat inflation by influencing borrowing costs throughout the economy. Higher rates make buying things on credit — whether a car, a house or a new factory — more expensive and thus reduce demand for goods and take pressure off prices. However, higher rates can also dampen growth.
Growth worries got new emphasis after surveys of purchasing managers compiled by S&P Global showed the eurozone economy was contracting in October. On top of that come concerns about how US trade policy under incoming President Donald Trump, including possible new tariffs, or import taxes on imported goods, might affect Europe’s export-dependent economy. Trump takes office Jan. 20.
The eurozone’s economic output is expected to grow 0.8% for all of this year and 1.3% next year, according to the European Commission’s most recent forecast.
All that has meant the discussion about the Dec. 12 ECB meeting has focused not on whether the Frankfurt-based bank’s rate council will cut rates, but by how much. Market discussion has included the possibility of a larger than usual half-point cut in the benchmark rate, currently 3.25%.
Inflation in Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy, held steady at 2.4%. That “will strengthen opposition against a 50 basis point cut,” said Carsten Brzeski, global chief of macro at ING bank, using financial jargon for a half-percentage-point cut.
The ECB sets interest rate policy for the European Union member countries that have joined the euro currency.