Morocco's forex reserves shrink 1.2 pct in April

Source: Xinhua | 2019-05-05

Morocco's net foreign exchange reserves amounted to over 24 billion U.S. dollars by the end of April, down 1.2 percent year on year, the central bank said Saturday.
According to the bank's statistics, the reserves dropped by 0.7 percent from the end of 2018 and 2.1 percent month on month.
In mid-January 2018, Morocco started the gradual floating of its currency, raising the official band of dirham's fluctuation to 2.5 percent above or below the official rate from the previous 0.3 percent.
The dirham is pegged to a two-currency basket weighted 60 percent to the euro and 40 percent to the U.S. dollar.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has encouraged the Moroccan authorities to take the next step, but the Moroccan authorities remain cautious about the next phase of floating dirham.
In a joint letter to the IMF director in January, the Moroccan monetary authorities said they will move to the next step "for preventative purposes as soon as economic conditions allow them to do so."