Morocco Reports Faster Growth

Moroccan authorities say the country’s economic growth jumped to 4.6% in 2017, up from 1.2% in 2016, Xinhua reported. Speaking at a press conference on the performance of the economy in 2017, Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance Mohamed Boussaid said the faster growth was achieved on the back of the 15.4% gain in the agricultural added value. Inflation rate slowed to 0.7% in 2017 against 1.6% in the previous year because of stable food prices, he noted. Boussaid said the unemployment rate rose slightly from 10.4% to 10.6% between 2016 and 2017, after a 1.1% hike in the labor force. The trade deficit, however, widened 2.6% despite the 9.3% jump in exports, as Morocco’s imports, affected by rising energy costs, rose 6.3% last year. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund said recently that it expects Morocco’s economy to accelerate over the medium term amid a slew of reforms including monetary policy liberalization that has seen greater flexibility in the exchange rate. “Morocco’s sound macroeconomic policies and reform implementation have helped improve the resilience of the economy,” said Mitsuhiro Furusawa, the IMF’s deputy managing director and acting chair.