The Central Bank of Morocco expected an economic contraction of 6.6% this year, in light of the decrease in the agricultural value added by 5.3% and the non-agricultural by 6.6%, it is expected that this growth will increase by 4.7% in 2021 and 3.5% in 2022, indicating that this scenario remains surrounded by many uncertainties, whereas, the recovery of the economy “remains slow and partial after the quarantine, in particular with the local and sectoral restrictions imposed in order to limit the spread of infection, as well as the doubts surrounding the development of the epidemic at the national and international levels.
The Moroccan central bank maintained the main interest rate, maintaining it at the current level at 1.5%, after reducing it with the onset of the current health crisis in order to support economic activity. Noting that, based on a set of assessments, the direction of monetary policy remains largely accommodative, which guarantees adequate financing for the economy.
Under the impact of the crisis, the central bank had lowered the main interest rate from 2.5% to 2%, then from 2% to 1.5%, and freed banks from compulsory reserves, in order to facilitate the access of companies and individuals to bank loans. Indicating that the monetary conditions are witnessing a decline in interest rates on loans, following the reduction of the main interest rate in the months of March and June, as the interest rate on loans recorded a quarterly decline of 28 basis points to 4.30 percent.
Source (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed Newspaper, Edited)
