At the end of May, the DTFE observed an increase in the lifespan of the Treasury’s domestic debt.
Conjuncture : According to the DTFE, Treasury debt remains dominated by its domestic component. The share of the latter amounts to 75.4% while the external debt represents 24.6% of the overall debt outstanding.
The Treasury debt reached 1,056.3 billion dirhams at the end of May 2024. It was in fact consolidated by +39.6 billion dirhams compared to the end of 2023, which represents an increase of +3.9%. It would also have appreciated by 56.9 billion dirhams compared to the same period of the previous year, an improvement of 6% year-on-year. This is what can be noted in the economic report from the Treasury and External Finance Department (DTFE). It also appears that the Treasury debt remains dominated by its domestic component. The share of the latter amounts to 75.4% while the external debt represents 24.6% of the overall debt outstanding. It should be noted that subscriptions on the Treasury securities auction market (MAVT) fell for the first five months, standing at MAD 78 billion, down 49.7% compared to the same period of the year. last year. According to the DTFE, this decline covers, on the one hand, a reduction in the volume subscribed for short maturities of -91.8 billion dirhams or -79.5% to be limited to 23.6 billion dirhams and, on the other hand, increases in subscriptions for long-term maturities of +11.5 billion dirhams or +38.4% to reach +41.6 billion dirhams and the volume subscribed for medium-term maturities of +3.1 billion dirhams or +32 .7% to settle at 12.8 billion dirhams.
Taking into account the drop of -74.1 billion dirhams or -61.3% in repayments which fell to 46.8 billion dirhams and other elements of the domestic debt, the outstanding amount of the latter stood at 796.7 billion dirhams. MMDH at the end of May 2024, up by +33.6 billion dirhams or +4.4% at the end of December 2023 compared to +37.5 billion dirhams or +5.2% a year earlier. At the end of May, the DTFE observed an increase in the lifespan of the Treasury’s domestic debt. “At the end of the first five months of 2024, the average lifespan of domestic debt increased to 7 years and 2 months, an increase of 10 months compared to the level recorded a year before”, we can read in this sense. Among the findings noted, we also note the drop in rates following the suspension of the cycle of tightening of Treasury financing conditions. “The upward trend in rates applied on the primary market for Treasury Bills (BdT), observed throughout 2023, was reversed during the first five months of 2024,” comments the DTFE at this subject.
And to continue: “Indeed, compared to the last rates awarded in 2023, the rates applied to short and medium term maturities have seen a reduction of -2 bps for 13-week BdTs, of -12 bps for BdTs at 2 years and -13 bps for BdT at 5 years. In terms of long-term maturities, the decreases reached -30 bps for 10-year BdTs, -32 bps for 15-years and -54 bps for 20-years.” During the first five months of the year, it was observed continuing active management of domestic debt. The Treasury thus carried out voucher exchange operations involving an amount of MAD 11.6 billion at the end of May compared to MAD 34.5 billion at the same period last year. At the same time, the DTFE is observing a drop in drawings of the Treasury’s external debt. In detail, the situation of the Treasury’s external borrowings showed a positive net flow (drawings – amortizations) of +7.7 billion dirhams at the end of May 2024 compared to +27.2 billion dirhams during the same period a year previously.
In this development, drawings stood at 12.1 billion dirhams against 31.6 billion dirhams, a drop of -19.5 billion dirhams or -62%. On the other hand, repayments showed an increase of +1.9 billion dirhams or 27.9%, to stand at 8.7 billion dirhams at the end of May 2024. Thus, the stock of external debt of the Treasury stood at 259. 6 billion dirhams, up +6 billion dirhams or +2.4% compared to the end of December 2023 compared to +19.4 billion dirhams or +8.5% a year earlier.
