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Moroccan Dirham's Stability Against Dollar, Euro Fluctuates Amid Central Bank's Weekly Auctions

Moroccan Dirham's Stability Against Dollar, Euro Fluctuates Amid Central Bank's Weekly Auctions
Monday 26 February 2024 - 08:10
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The Moroccan dirham displayed a mixed performance against major foreign currencies last week, as per the latest data released by Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), the country's central bank. While the dirham maintained its value against the U.S. dollar, it experienced a decline of 0.91% when measured against the euro.

During the week of February 15 through 21, BAM did not conduct any currency auctions. Nevertheless, the bank remained actively engaged in Morocco's foreign exchange markets through alternative methods. Daily average interventions amounted to 122.1 billion dirhams, inclusive of both long and short-term loans as well as advances. The total trading volume in the interbank market averaged 1.9 billion dirhams per day.

Official foreign currency reserves as of February 15 stood at a robust 357.6 billion dirhams, marking a year-over-year increase of 7.4% and a weekly rise of 0.8%. Additionally, BAM allocated 44.3 billion dirhams in seven-day advances through its February 21 tender as part of its liquidity management efforts.

On the stock exchange, the MASI index recorded a gain of 1.6% for the week, extending its annual rise to 7.2%. This positive performance was predominantly driven by gains in the insurance, agri-food, and banking sectors, with their respective indices rising by 3.6%, 3.4%, and 0.9%. Conversely, the mining and electricity sectors experienced declines of 2.1% and 3.1% respectively. Overall trading volume on the bourse marginally decreased from 1.2 billion dirhams to 1.1 billion dirhams compared to the previous week.

The central bank maintained stability of the dirham against the dollar through continuous market interventions, while the currency exhibited a minor retreat against the euro. The reserves and liquidity measures remained at satisfactory levels.


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