The findings of HCP’s latest survey paint a grim picture of the financial situation of Moroccan households. A staggering 90.2% of households reported that they will be unable to save any money over the next 12 months, compared to just 9.8% who said they will be able to save.
This has pushed the savings index down to a negative 80.4 points in the second quarter of the current year, compared to a negative 81.5 points in the previous quarter.
During the same period, 55.8% of households reported that their income covered their expenses. However, 42.1% of households have depleted their savings or resorted to borrowing, and only 2.1% of households were able to save a portion of their income.
According to HCP, there was a slight improvement in household confidence compared to the first quarter of the year, with the confidence index settling at 46.1 points, up from 45.3 points last March.
Regarding living standards, 82.6% of households felt theirs had worsened in the past 12 months, with only 13% reporting stability and 4.4% noting improvement, resulting in a negative living standards index of 78.2 points, compared to 78.1 points from January to March last year.
The report also indicated that 78.9% of households felt the current conditions were unfavorable for durable goods purchases in the second quarter of the year, contrasting with 9.5% who thought otherwise, leading to a negative durable goods index of 69.4 points, down from 72.9 points in the previous quarter.
A whopping 96.4% of households reported that food prices have increased over the past 12 months, while only 0.4% said they have decreased. This has kept the balance of these opinions at a negative 96 points, compared to a negative 96.5 points from one quarter to the next of the current year.
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, 82.8% of households have anticipated a rise in unemployment levels over the next 12 months, marking an improvement from the previous quarter and the same quarter last year, where the index stabilized at -76.2 points, compared to -77.5 and -80.4 points respectively.
The findings also showcased that households in Morocco have a pessimistic outlook on their future financial situation.
Only 16.7% of households expect their situation to improve over the next 12 months, while 52.7% expect it to remain stable and 30.6% expect it to worsen.
This has pushed the balance of this indicator into a negative level, at -13.9 points, marking a decline compared to both the previous quarter and the same quarter of the previous year, when it stood at -13.4 points and -6.1 points, respectively.
Looking ahead, 82.1% of households expect food prices to continue rising over the next 12 months, while 14.9% expect them to remain stable and 3% expect them to decline.
This has pushed the balance of this indicator into a negative level, at -79.1 points, compared to -70.1 points in the previous quarter and -67.7 points in the same quarter of the previous year.
In addition, 55.1% of households surveyed in the new survey expect their living standards to deteriorate in the future, compared to 35.9% who expect them to remain stable and 9% who expect them to improve.
This has pushed the balance of this indicator into a negative level, at -46.1 points, compared to -47.3 points between the first and second quarters of the current year.
As for the outlook on food prices in the upcoming period, 82.1% of households expect them to continue rising, 14.9% foresee stability, and 3% anticipate a decrease. This positions the index at a negative level of -79.1 points during the second quarter of the year.
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