Tunisia’s foreign currency reserves fell on Monday by the equivalent of two weeks’ imports after the country repaid a foreign debt of 850 million euros ($915.28 million), according to central bank figures.
This month, Tunisia’s parliament approved a government request for direct central bank financing worth 7 billion dinars ($2.25 billion), with the aim of repaying urgent foreign debts, including 850 million euros due on February 16.
The central bank said on its website on Monday that foreign currency reserves had fallen to 23.058 billion dinars ($7.37 billion) by February 19, enough to cover 105 days of imports, while at the weekend they were equivalent to 119 days of imports.
Tunisia will pay $4 billion in foreign debt in 2024, a 40% increase on 2023, against a backdrop of a shortage of external financing.
Last week, President Kais Saied appointed Fethi Nouri, a former member of the central bank’s board of directors, as the bank’s new governor, which could indicate a change of course after disagreements over policy and direct government financing.
TunisianMonitorOnline
