Moroccan Budget Deficit Amounts to $2.8Bn in June

Moroccan Budget Deficit Amounts to $2.8Bn in June
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Moroccan Budget Deficit Amounts to $2.8Bn in June

Moroccan Budget Deficit Amounts to $2.8Bn in June

Data released by Morocco’s General Treasury (TGR) has revealed a budget deficit of 28.8 billion dirhams ($2.8 billion) in late June, compared to a deficit of 22.8 billion dirhams ($2.2 billion) in 2019.

In its monthly public finance statistics bulletin in June, the Treasury said this deficit is due to a positive balance of 8.3 billion dirhams ($830 million), released by the special accounts of the Treasury (CST) and the independently managed state services.

Based on the revenue collected and outgoing expenditures, the TGR pointed out that the budget implementation also revealed a negative balance of 805 million dirhams ($80.5 million), against a positive balance of 3.2 billion dirhams ($230 million) in 2019.

Meanwhile, it said the global amount collected by the Special Fund for the management of the novel coronavirus pandemic has amounted to 33.3 billion dirhams ($3.3 billion) in H1 2020.

“At the end of June 2020, the trust account entitled ‘Special Fund for the management of the coronavirus pandemic’ recorded income of 33.3 billion dirhams and expenditure of 18.1 billion dirhams ($1.8 billion),” it reported.

It is noteworthy that the special Fund was established under the directives of King Mohammed VI to cover the costs of upgrading the medical system, support the national economy to cope with the shocks induced by this coronavirus, preserve jobs, and mitigate the social repercussions of the pandemic.



ECB's Lagarde Rejects 'Political Pressure' after Italy Seeks Bigger Rate Cuts

President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde attends a press conference following an informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and central bank heads of EU countries in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP)
President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde attends a press conference following an informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and central bank heads of EU countries in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP)
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ECB's Lagarde Rejects 'Political Pressure' after Italy Seeks Bigger Rate Cuts

President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde attends a press conference following an informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and central bank heads of EU countries in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP)
President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde attends a press conference following an informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and central bank heads of EU countries in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP)

The European Central Bank (ECB) is an independent institution not subject to any political pressure, its President Christine Lagarde said on Friday, rebuffing Italian calls for bigger interest rate cuts.

Two Italian government ministers had criticized the ECB on Thursday as the Frankfurt-based euro zone central bank cut its deposit rate by 25 basis points to 3.50%, and accused it of a lack of courage.

"The European Central Bank is an independent institution, it's very clearly stated in the treaties," Lagarde said at an informal meeting of EU economy ministers in Budapest.
"We are not subject to political pressure of any sort," she added, according to Reuters.
Italy, with the highest borrowing costs in the euro zone and the bloc's second highest public debt as a proportion of national output, has much to gain from a steep fall in ECB rates.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, one of the members of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government who spoke out against the ECB, also called for the bank's founding treaty to be reformed.
"Today the European Central Bank is only concerned with fighting inflation, (but) it is not enough, we need a central bank that can manage the currency to promote growth," Tajani said.
Speaking on Thursday, Lagarde suggested to reporters that the bar for another cut next month was relatively high, highlighting that policymakers would be unlikely to have enough data to determine whether further easing was appropriate.