Coronavirus: Morocco’s economy to shrink 6.8 pct in second quarter, says agency

Morocco’s planning agency revised downwards on Tuesday its growth forecast for the second quarter to -6.8 percent year-on-year instead of an earlier estimate of -1.8 percent as the coronavirus lockdown hit both foreign and domestic demand.

First-quarter growth stood at 0.7 percent compared with a previous projection of 1.1 percent, the agency said in a statement, citing a drop in cereals output.

The coronavirus will cost the Moroccan economy $3 billion in the first half, it said.

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