"Inflationary pressures continue to be fueled mainly by external factors, as reflected in the significant acceleration of inflation of tradable goods," said Jouahri at a press briefing held at the end of the BAM Board's second quarterly meeting of 2022.

Inflation of non-tradable goods, impacted mainly by internal factors, continues to evolve at a contained level, he added.

In addition to the increase in fuel and lubricants, the inflation was driven upwards by the sharp rise in core inflation to 5.5% from 4.4%.

The prices of tradable food products have increased by 11.6% compared to 8.5% in the first quarter, he said, adding that the prices of "cereal products" increased by 15.4% (+12.2% in Q1) and oil prices rose by 20.4% (+15% in Q1).

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, tighter monetary policies, and deterioration of economic prospects cause inflation to remain relatively high at the international level, Jouahri argued.

In the United States, he added, inflation would reach 7.8% on average this year, while it would accelerate to 7.2% in the Eurozone.

At the national level, driven mainly by the surge in energy and food prices and the acceleration of inflation in main trading partners, consumer prices rose significantly in the first four months of the year, with an average year-on-year increase of 4.5%. 

This trend is expected to continue in the near term, with the Bank projecting the inflation to reach 5.3% for the year as a whole before decelerating to 2% in 2023. Its underlying component would reach 5.2% in 2022 and then return to 2.5% in the following year.