The Moroccan dirham appreciated by 1.1% against the U.S. dollar and depreciated by 0.8% against the euro from February 27 to March 5. Official reserve assets stood at MAD 367.9 billion. The MASI index fell by 2.7% during this period, affected by drops in key sectors. The trading volume also decreased significantly, indicating market fluctuations.
The Moroccan dirham experienced an appreciation of 1.1% against the U.S. dollar and a depreciation of 0.8% against the euro within the period from February 27 to March 5, as reported by Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM). During this timeframe, there were no foreign exchange operations recorded in BAM’s weekly bulletin.
As of February 28, official reserve assets amounted to MAD 367.9 billion (approximately $37.7 billion), reflecting a stability from the prior week and a year-on-year increase of 2.3%. BAM’s average daily intervention volume during this period reached MAD 146.9 billion (USD 14.9 billion), distributed as MAD 65.2 billion (USD 6.7 billion) for 7-day advances, MAD 47 billion (USD 4.8 billion) through long-term repurchase agreements, and MAD 34.7 billion (USD 3.5 billion) in guaranteed loans.
In the interbank market, the average daily trading volume rose to MAD 3.8 billion ($386 million), and the interbank rate averaged 2.5%. On March 5, BAM injected MAD 66.1 billion ($6.7 billion) in 7-day advances, which contributed to the market’s liquidity.
Conversely, the MASI index in the stock market declined by 2.7% during the same period, marking a year-to-date performance decline to 12.5%. Key contributing factors included a 2.9% drop in the banking index, an 8% decrease in the real estate and property development index, a 4% decline in telecommunications, and a 3.2% fall in transportation services.
In terms of valuation metrics, the Price-to-Earnings Ratio (PER) decreased from 24.9 to 24 week-on-week. Weekly trading volume recorded a substantial decrease, reaching MAD 1.4 billion ($141 million), down from MAD 3 billion ($304 million) in the previous week, with most trading conducted on the central equities market.
In summary, the Moroccan dirham appreciated against the U.S. dollar while declining against the euro in early March. Despite the stability in official reserves, the stock market observed significant downturns in various indices. The decline in the MASI index and trading volumes highlights market volatility, whilst BAM’s interventions demonstrate active measures to sustain liquidity.
Original Source: www.moroccoworldnews.com
