Tunisia foreign exchange reserves drop 9.5% this year

Tunisian security forces guard the entrance of the country’s parliament, in Tunis, Tunisia on October 01, 2021. [Yassine Gaidi – Anadolu Agency]

Tunisia’s foreign exchange reserves have declined 9.5 per cent in the past nine months to reach 20.9 billion dinars ($7.4 billion) in September, down from 23.09 billion dinars ($8.16 billion) at the end of 2020, the Central Bank of Tunisia reported.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves are sufficient to cover imports for a period of 127 days, down from a coverage period of 162 days recorded at the end of 2020, the bank added in a statement.

It expressed concern “about the severe shortage of external financial resources” in order to “complete the financing of the state budget for the year 2021”.

According to the statement, the decline in foreign reserves “reflects the fear of international lenders in light of the deterioration of the country’s sovereign rating and the absence of a new program with the International Monetary Fund.”

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