Morocco, Africa’s fifth biggest economy, recorded disinflation in November 2025 for the first time in four years and 11 months, according to data released on Friday by the country’s statistics agency.
Data from the High Commission for Planning (HCP) showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.3 percent year-on-year in November, compared with a 0.1 percent increase in the previous month.
The reading marks the North African country’s first episode of deflation since December 2020, underscoring a sharp cooling in price pressures after years of elevated inflation.
Disinflation, often confused with deflation, refers to a slowdown in the rate at which prices are rising, meaning inflation is easing but prices are not necessarily falling outright. In Morocco’s case, however, the slowdown tipped into deflation, where the general price level declined, increasing consumers’ purchasing power.
Inflation had already slowed in October to its lowest level since March 2021, signalling a broader disinflationary trend before prices slipped into negative territory last month.
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BusinessDay analysis revealed that Morocco joins a small but growing group of African countries that have recorded negative inflation in 2025. Algeria posted its first deflation in at least a decade in June, with prices falling 0.22 percent, while Burkina Faso recorded a 1.1 percent contraction in July — its first since October 2023.
Both countries have remained in deflationary territory since.
In Morocco, easing food prices, softer imported inflation and subdued core inflation have helped dampen underlying price pressures.
HCP further noted that food prices, the main driver of inflation, declined 1.2 percent year-on-year, while non-food prices rose modestly by 0.4 percent. Core inflation, which strips out volatile items, fell 0.9 percent year-on-year and 0.4 percent month-on-month.
Every month, CPI declined 0.6 percent in November, matching October’s pace and marking the steepest monthly drop since January 2024.
Bank Al-Maghrib, Morocco’s central bank, said inflation is expected to average 0.8 percent in 2025, before rising to 1.3 percent in 2026 and 1.9 percent in 2027. The bank has kept its policy rate at 2.25 percent, prioritising economic growth as inflation risks ease.
Last September, the central bank announced plans to adopt a formal inflation-targeting framework from January 2027, aimed at strengthening monetary policy credibility and anchoring price expectations over the medium term.
