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IMF Staff Concludes Second Review of PLL Visit to Morocco | IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) gives Morocco a solid economic report card:
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team led by Jean-François Dauphin visited Morocco from May 28 to June 5, 2015 to conduct discussions with the authorities on the second review of economic performance under the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) arrangement approved by the IMF Executive Board in July 2014. The authorities have not drawn on the PLL and intend to keep the arrangement as precautionary, unless Morocco experiences actual balance of payments needs from a significant deterioration of external conditions.
At the conclusion of the mission, Mr. Dauphin issued the following statement:
“The economy is recovering and macroeconomic prospects are favorable but remain subject to important external risks. After slowing in 2014, growth is expected around 5 percent in 2015, bolstered by a good agricultural output and a gradual acceleration of activity in other sectors. The external position has improved, benefiting from lower oil prices and the strong performance of exports from newly developed industries. The external current account deficit narrowed to 5.6 percent of GDP in 2014 and is expected to further decrease to around 3 percent of GDP in 2015. International reserves have continued to strengthen. The fiscal deficit has further contracted, owing in particular to measures taken by the government to reduce public expenditures. Public debt rose but, at about 65 percent of GDP, remains sustainable. Inflation remains low at about 1.5 percent year-on-year. However, significant efforts remain to be made to reduce unemployment, particularly among the youth…[full story]