Morocco posted 6.3 % growth in 1998

Morocco posted a 6.3 % growth rate in 1998 (against -2 % in 1997) due to the good performance of agriculture, a Moroccan official told reporters Thursday.

At a press conference attended by Moroccan and Foreign journalists, the head of the Moroccan statistics department said GDP is expected to grow by 3 % in 1999.

Apart from the agricultural sector, the growth rate which stood in 1997 at 3.3 % and progressed in 1998 to 3.4 % is expected to maintain its upward trend in 1999, the statistics chief added.

He also noted that the inflation rate stood in 1998 at 2.7 % while urban unemployment worsened by 2 points rising from 16.9 % in 1997 to 19 % in 1998.