Bank Al-Maghrib has postponed in a statement the announcement of the liberalization of Morocco's currency, reports Reuters. The date of the step which is a reform package strongly suggested by the International Monetary Fund was supposed to be revealed on Thursday 29th of June. According to the same source, the Central Bank has issued a statement in this week informing reporters that the date of the dirham's liberalization first phase will be announced on the 29th of June during a conference held by the bank's governor and the Finance Minister. Unlike expectations, Bank Al-Maghrib stated in a brief note that it would be delayed for «a few days». Reuters points out that «a finance ministry official did not respond to multiple requests about why the announcement had been pushed back, and central bank officials declined to give a reason», adding that statement sent to reporters did not include the reasons behind the delay. For the record, Abdellatif Jouahri, the governor of Bank Al-Maghrib stated during the Central bank's board meeting organized on 20th of June that «the date of the first phase of the plan to liberalize the Dirham currency will start by the end of June but the reform program does not include devaluation». «I will hold a press conference with the Minister of Finance by the end of June to announce the date for the first phase», Jouahri indicated adding that «provoking a devaluation of the Dirham prior to floating the currency would be counterproductive».
