Moroccan inflation falls in July as dirham appreciates against the dollar
Morocco continues to control its inflation rate and see its currency revalue
The latest data published by Morocco's High Commission for Planning (HCP), the body in charge of official statistics, reveals that the country's Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 1.3 % in July.
Food prices fall
This figure represents a decrease of 0.5 % compared to the figure recorded in June, which was 1.8 %, as a result of a fall of 0.5 % in the prices of food products and an increase of 0.1 % in the prices of non-food products.
Specifically, between June and July, vegetable prices fell by 6.5 %; milk, cheese and eggs by 1 %; and oils and fats by 0.5 %.
By contrast, prices of fish and seafood rose by 0.9 % in July, as did those of fruit (+0.9 %) and products such as sugar, jams, honey, chocolate and confectionery (+0.4 %).
As for non-food prices, the HCP attributed the rise in particular to the increase in fuel prices, up 1.3 % on the previous month.
Core inflation, which excludes the prices of the most volatile goods, such as food and fuel, rose by 0.1 % with respect to the figure for last June.
By region, the biggest decreases in the index were in Errachidia (1.1%); Safi (1%); Fez, Marrakech and Dakhla (0.5%); Agadir and Rabat (0.4%); and Oujda, Meknes and Settat (0.3%).
On the other hand, the main CPI increases in July were in Laayoune and Beni-Mellal (0.5 %); Kenitra (0.4 %); and Tangier and Guelmim (0.2 %).
The Moroccan government is managing to contain inflation and bring the rate closer to the 2 % annual target recommended by the OECD.
The evolution of the figures for the last few months has been very positive, given that the figure for August 2023 was 5 %. Since then, the rate has been decreasing monthly until reaching 0.2 % last April.
The dirham rebounds
In addition, the Moroccan currency, the dirham, is doing well and has increased its exchange rate against two of the world's major currencies, the dollar and the euro.
According to the latest Bank Al-Maghrib weekly bulletin, the Moroccan currency appreciated by 0.12 % against the euro and 0.25 % against the US dollar during the week from 8 to 14 August.
The euro exchanged at 10.75 dirhams on 8 August and 10.79 dirhams on 14 August. The dollar was at 9.85 dirhams on 8 August and 9.76 dirhams on 14 August.
In the same bulletin, the Moroccan central bank reports that the country's official reserve assets amounted to 364.7 billion dirhams on 9 August, 0.5 per cent less than the previous week and 4 per cent more in year-on-year terms.
With regard to its activity, the central bank noted that it had made interventions totalling Dh141 billion, including advances, repos and collateralised loans.
REUTERS/YOUSSEF BOUDIAL
The stock market continues to rise
The capital market also reflects the good momentum of the Moroccan economy: the MASI (Moroccan All Shares Index) of the Casablanca Stock Exchange rose by 0.3 % in the reference week (8 to 14 August), bringing its cumulative return so far this year to 14.3 %.
According to the Bank Al Maghrib bulletin, the mining (+2.9 %), insurance (+1.7 %) and agri-food (+1 %) sectors were the main performers on the trading floor, while oil and gas (-2.8 %) and pharmaceuticals (-1.2 %) were the worst performers,
Weekly trading volume fell from Dh1.1 billion to Dh455.7 million.
