Tunisia’s foreign exchange reserves dropped below 100 days of import coverage as of March 18, 2025, marking the first time since May 2023.
Specifically, the reserve stock fell to 98 days of imports on Tuesday, down from 100 days the previous day and 106 days on the same date in 2024.
In monetary terms, foreign exchange reserves decreased from 23.167 billion dinars on March 14 to 22.952 billion dinars on March 17, and further to 22.448 billion dinars on March 18. This represents a decline of 214.6 million dinars on March 17 and 504.2 million dinars on March 18, 2025.
The significant contraction of 504 million dinars between March 17 and 18, equivalent to two days of imports, is primarily attributed to the central administration’s repayment of a $65 million credit installment to Afreximbank. This payment relates to loans provided by the bank to Tunisia in 2022 and 2023.
Additionally, Tunisia is expected to repay a 60-million-dinar installment under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) by the end of March.
The slight tightening of reserves is also explained by the widening of Tunisia’s trade deficit during the first two months of the year.
The deficit increased from 1.78 billion dinars in February 2024 to 3.52 billion dinars in February 2025, a 97.2% deterioration.
This decline in reserves occurred despite a 5.6% increase in tourism revenues and a 6.9% rise in remittances from Tunisians residing abroad as of March 10, 2025, alongside a slight easing of debt service by 0.9%.
