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Foreign currency reserves have reached a level close to the safety threshold, totalling 26,615.2 million dinars (MD), which is equivalent to 119 days of imports. This represents an increase of 3,358.3 million dinars. Generally accepted standards in this area recognize the security threshold as 120 days of imports.
This information is sourced from the daily bulletin of monetary and financial indicators released by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. The bulletin reports notable growth in key components of the external sector, particularly tourist receipts and TRE (Tunisian Resident Abroad) transfers, which amounted to 11.5 billion dinars as of September 30. This marks a significant increase from the 9.6 billion dinars recorded during the same period in the previous year.
Furthermore, this enhancement in the capacity to cover foreign currency requirements was achieved through a reduction in the trade deficit. During the first eight months of the year, the trade deficit decreased to 12,194.7 million dinars (MD) compared to 16,913.7 MD in the same period the previous year. This was attributed to the sustained growth in exports (+10.1%) juxtaposed with a decline in imports (-1.8%).
It’s worth noting that all indicators related to the external sector have shown consistent improvement in recent months. During its last monthly meeting on September 7, the board of directors of the BCT observed a continuous reduction in the current deficit, which stood at -2,814 MD (or -1.8% of GDP) by the end of July 2023, compared to -7,793 MD (or -5.4% of GDP) a year ago.
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