Tunisia’s Net Hard Currency Holdings and GDP Growth

Introduction

Tunisia’s net hard currency holdings reached RSD 25,164.7 million, equivalent to 109 days of supply, according to monetary and financial indicators released by the Central Bank on Friday, August 18, 2023.

Decrease in Hard Currency Reserve

The hard currency reserve recorded a decrease of RSD 1,249.4 million compared to the same period in 2022, representing a six-day supply reduction to 116 supply days.

Factors Supporting Foreign Exchange Reserves

The central bank considered that the increase in remittances of Tunisians abroad and income from tourism supports foreign exchange reserves.

As of August 10, Tunisian transfers abroad amounted to about 4,677.2 million dinars, compared to 4,446 million dinars in the same period in 2022.

GDP Growth in Second Quarter of 2023

It is worth noting that Tunisia recorded an increase in gross domestic product in the second quarter of 2023.

The National Institute of Statistics said that “preliminary estimates of the Tripartite National Accounts showed that economic activity recorded a seasonally adjusted gross domestic product growth of 0.6 percent over the three-month period from April to June compared to the same period last year.”

The institute added: “This percentage represents a decrease from the growth recorded in the first quarter of 2023 (1.9 percent).”

He continued: “The inefficiency of the agricultural sector due to climatic conditions has had a negative impact on the growth trend of the national economy in recent months, which is expected to continue until the end of this year.”

The institute said: “The growth rate has been revised up in the first quarter of 2023 from 2.1 percent (as released in last May data) to 1.9 percent after updating production estimates for the growing season.”

Source

Source: Tunisian media.