A number of countries around the world are experiencing a remarkable rise in inflation rates, at a time when efforts are increasing to emerge from the consequences of the crisis proposed by Dame Covid, and which for more than two years has not ceased. to compete with humanity through its different variants, each of which has its own dangerousness and has its semblance of an effect on the planet.
In the United States, inflation has reached 6% and in Turkey, it has skyrocketed to more than 30%, which is to say if it bothers the economies of the States and more particularly of countries like Lebanon or Sudan in regard to tense internal conditions they are undergoing. In the United States, rising inflation in the world’s most powerful economy has led to a large supply of liquidity. In Turkey, the annual inflation rate hit a two-decade high of 36% due to President Erdogan’s economic choices as he cut interest rates to a record low, leading to a significant drop in the value of the pound.
On the other hand and for the rest of us, data from the High Commission for Planning (HCP) indicates that the inflation rate in Morocco was around 0.8% in 2020, and rose to 1.7% in 2021, and it is expected to maintain this stability in the current financial year. The inflation rate reminds us of the Institution expresses the percentage of increase or decrease in prices during a given period. In Morocco, the HCP to do this, relies on a basket of more than 400 basic consumer items to monitor this rate every three months.
Rachid Aouraz, researcher and expert in economics at the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis and member of the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis (MIPA), explained to MoroccoLatestNews that the rate of inflation in a country expresses the general price rate, noting that this inflation has an origin represented in the monetary policy approved by the Central Bank. He added that monetary policy, which requires an increase in the money supply in the market, directly produces an increase in inflation. The latter can also result from an increase in the prices of imported raw materials, and we then speak of imported inflation. Our economics researcher, Rachid Aouraz believes that “the monetary policy adopted by the Bank of Al-Maghrib is the most successful thing the Kingdom has ever done in the past twenty years, which has made it possible to maintain stability”.
He further added, “ If we failed in this file it is because we would have been confronted with direct repercussions on the citizens “. Aouraz noted that the years that saw a slight rise in Morocco’s inflation rate were marked by major protest events. And to cite, the demonstrations of February 20, those of the rural movement of Hirak and that of Jerada, in addition to the boycott campaign which included some of the most consumed items due to rising prices.
The monetary policy adopted in Morocco by the Central Bank is based on interference in the money market to target inflation and ensure adequate financing for the needs of economic operators. The primary objective of this policy is to stabilize prices through several interventions carried out by the Central Bank in the money market. The operations carried out by Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) include the so-called main operations, which aim to match the interest rate between the banks and the value targeted by the monetary policy. These operations are the most important channel for pumping or withdrawing liquidity, and they are carried out on a regular basis through weekly tenders. In the event of abundant liquidity, continues the expert, the bank resorts to withdrawal, while it resorts to advances for a period of seven days in the event of a lack of liquidity.
In addition to the main operations, the monetary policy operating system includes fine-tuning and permanent facilities, initiated by the banks. These are, as said in this jargon, long-term operations and structural operations. BAM seeks to keep inflation at a moderate level. It is fixed on a medium-term horizon, because it is calculated by the consumer price index, which measures the relative evolution of the price of a fixed basket of products and services consumed by Moroccan families, such as estimates the High Commission for Planning on the basis of a monthly survey which includes 17 towns in the Kingdom, 478 products and 1,067 types of products and services. Price stability allows citizens to maintain their purchasing power and allows investors and businesses to have a better view. By achieving this objective, BAM contributes to growth and employment, as well as to the economic development of the country in general. Several voices were raised and called to confront Dame Covid by adopting a policy of printing money, including hello, former minister Lahcen Daoudi. But BAM rejected it because of its direct impact on inflation, and therefore on the purchasing power of citizens.
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