"Positive signs in economic activity" (BCT)

Positive signs in economic activity were noticed late September, 2011, according to the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT), which pointed to the lessening of the drop registered in the tourism sector and the revival of activity in some other sectors that have been mostly hit since the beginning of the year in addition to the gradual improvement in trade with Libya and the positive trend of stock market indicators. The Board decided, according to statement released on Friday, to keep unchanged the key interest rate of the Central Bank of Tunisia and recommended to start the working out of an upgrading programme of the financial system in order to consolidate its soundness and develop its interventions to ensure economic activity revival. It said that the reduction in the Central Bank key interest rate to 3.5% beginning September induced a decrease in money market average rate at 3.2% vs 3.76% the previous month. Measures undertaken on the monetary level helped banks pursue their efforts of financing the economy at a sustained pace with a 10.5% increase in financing the economy since the beginning of the year. Also, discount portfolio rose by 8.5% during the same period which is a positive indicator reflecting economic activity progress, the Board said. On the other hand, assets in foreign currencies registered a virtual stability compared to August reaching on 29 September 10,850 MTD corresponding to 120 days of imports, it added. The Board also noted the mitigation of pressure on bank liquidity in August and the continuation of this trend in September which resulted in a decrease in the Central Bank's intervention on the money market. Moreover, the Board considered the trends in international environment, in particular sovereign debt crisis in the Euro zone and the risks of impact on national economy, and recommended to manage to face these repercussions notably through the follow up of these trends and the undertaking of appropriate measures if needed. The Board recommended also to consolidate the registered positive signs on the national level through notably a more sustained activation of public finance policy.