Algeria loses $6 billion in 6 months because of hydrocarbon exports fall

Algeria lost about $6 billion between January and June 2013 as its hydrocarbon exports fell by 14.31 percent to $32.14 billion compared to $37.50 billion, the Algeria Bank new report finds.

Algeria’s commodity exports continued to rise by 20 percent while exports out of hydrocarbons structural weakness had a negative impact on trade balance in 2013’s first semester.

According to the same report, services balance had a $3.7 billion deficit.

Commodity imports are on the rise while hydrocarbons exports volume are going down and deficit is increasing.

The report says official exchange reserves accumulation shows Algeria’s solid foreign financial situation. Exchange reserves except gold reached $190.66 billion in the end of December 2012. That represents more than three years of goods and services importing.

The Algeria Bank stresses the importance of careful running of official exchange reserves, saying investments safety is a priority.

Exchange reserves running led to 1.93 percent income. The first semester seems affected by main hard currencies unstable exchange rate which hits some emerging and developing economies.

The Public Treasury’s financial savings went up by $288.58 billion, said the report.

It added that slight economic growth improvement in 2013 is accompanied by inflation due to continuous domestic inflation pressures. Budget current expenses expansion including conversions increase had an impact on rates. Because of that, it was difficult for The Algeria Bank to manage monetary policy to reduce inflation.