People buying US Dollars at MMA service counters in November 2016.
The Maldives’ central bank announced that its usable US Dollar reserves went up by six percent in the month of February this year.
According to Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA)’s economic review, its usable reserves went up to USD 213.3 million in February, which is an annual increase of 16 percent.
The usable dollar reserves are used for the importation of food, medicine, oil products and other basic necessities.
MMA’s review shows that the state’s official reserves were at USD 516.8 million in February compared to USD 476.1 million recorded in the previous month.
MMA’s statistics project that the Maldives’ economy will increase at 4.7 percent this year which is 0.8 percent higher than 2016.
According to the economic review, the current deficit will increase to USD 892.1 million. This is 21 percent higher than last year’s USD 666.7 million.