Remittances and tourism top 9 billion dinars as reserves hold at 91 days of imports
The Central Bank of Tunisia's latest monetary and financial indicators show remittances from Tunisians abroad and tourism receipts together passing 9 billion dinars as of July 20: remittances up 5.2 percent to more than 5 billion, tourism receipts up 4.6 percent to nearly 4 billion. Net foreign assets stood at 23 billion dinars on July 22, the equivalent of 91 days of imports, against 22.8 billion a year earlier, while external debt service fell to 7.5 billion dinars from 9 billion. The same bulletin shows notes and coins in circulation up 16.6 percent year on year to 29.4 billion dinars. With no IMF programme in place, the diaspora and the summer season are what hold the external accounts together; and the rising cash stock points to how much of the economy sits outside the banking system.