The Maldives’ gross foreign exchange reserves decreased by 7% at the end of October, the central bank has revealed.
According to the most recent economic statement issued by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), the Maldives had over USD 1 billion in foreign exchange reserves in September 2021, which had declined by 7% to USD 947.6 million by the end of October.
But it represented a 49 percent rise over the USD 638.1 million in total foreign exchange reserves in October 2020.
Furthermore, according to the Maldives Bureau of Statistics, real GDP climbed by 75.3 percent in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, following a 10.1 percent fall in the first quarter of 2021. Despite a robust return in growth, November GDP is 15.9 percent lower than it was before the COVID-19 outbreak.
The MMA ascribed the substantial return in annual GDP growth during the second quarter of 2021 to a major pick-up in the country’s tourism sector. According to the central bank, real GDP is expected to expand between 28.1 percent and 38.5 percent in 2021, with 31.6 percent being the most likely growth rate.
