Coronavirus to increase pressure on Morocco’s external finances, Fitch says

In a brief published Monday, American credit rating agency Fitch said that the novel coronavirus has increased «pressure on Morocco’s external finances».

The agency indicated that «downside risks for Morocco’s cad and external finances have increased significantly due to Covid-19 pandemic global shock», Reuters reports.

Fitch explains that the tourism sector in Morocco will be impacted by the increase in leisure travel. In addition to that, the «slowdown in world growth could weigh on Morocco’s exports, chiefly phosphates as well on remittances».

As a result, Fitch believes that Morocco’s full transition to a more flexible exchange rate will take several years.