RABAT, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's trade deficit increased 3.3 percent between January and November 2017 compared with a year before, reaching a total of 18.32 billion U.S. dollars, the foreign exchange regulator said on Wednesday.
The rise in the deficit was driven by a hike in imports by 6.7 percent to 42 billion dollars from 39.37 dollars in the same period last year, according to exchange regulator statistics.
The hike was due to 28.6-percent increase in energy bills and 3.4-percent rise in equipment imports rose 3.4-percent, the same source pointed out.
Total exports rose 9.4 percent year on year, but stood at only 23.68 billion dollars, pushed by the rise of 12.2 percent in phosphate exports, and 8.5 percent in agriculture exports, the exchange regulator said.
