Morocco raises key interest rate to 2 percent,

Morocco’s Central Bank on Tuesday raised the key interest rate to 2 percent, a 0.5 rise in the rate the bank has kept steady since June of 2020.

In a press release, the Central Bank said the decision it made aims to manage inflation expectations and to ensure conditions for a quick return to levels consistent with the goal of price stability.

The Bank expected economic growth to record 0.8 percent this year, instead of the 1 percent expected last June.

Bank Al-Maghrib said, after its board meeting today, Tuesday, that the slowdown in growth during the current year has caused a decline in the agricultural value added by 14.7 percent and a slowdown in the growth of non-agricultural activities to 3.4 percent.

Inflation is expected to rise to 6.3 percent for the whole of 2022, compared to 1.4 percent in 2021, before returning to 2.4 percent in 2023.