Central Banks
Morocco Hikes Rate for First Time in 14 Years on Inflation
A boatman transports passengers across the Bou Regreg river in Morocco.
Photographer: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Morocco raised its key interest rate for the first time since 2008, becoming the latest African nation to reverse years of gradual monetary easing in a bid to tackle inflation that’s at its highest in decades.
Tuesday’s hike of 50 basis points to 2% came after the Bank al-Maghrib held the rate for eight consecutive quarterly policy meetings. The outcome was one of the regulator’s most unpredictable decisions in several years, with two of the kingdom’s major financial institutions at odds over whether it would shift the benchmark from a record low.