Morocco's foreign exchange reserves stood at $23.6 billion by the end of September, shrinking by 10.3 percent compared to the same period last year, Morocco's Central Bank said on Sunday.

The drop in Morocco's foreign exchange reserves comes as the country plans to move to gradually float dirham.

Despite fall in foreign currency reserves in 2017, Fitch said in late September this fall is unlikely to prompt any policy shift, expecting an eventual widening of Moroccan dirham's floating bands.

Morocco's central bank announced earlier that the first step to float the currency would start in July, but the Moroccan government decided to delay the move, saying studies are being carried out to ensure enough time for the decision to take effect and to better understand "its impact on the economy and, in particular, on the purchasing power of citizens."

Currently, the Dirham is fixed via a peg that is 60 percent weighted to the euro and 40 percent to the U.S. dollar.

The first stage will ease that peg to allow the currency to trade in a narrow range, which will expand gradually over a few years.

The International Monetary Fund has encouraged Morocco to take the decision, underlining that a more flexible exchange regime will strengthen the competitiveness of the Moroccan economy and its resilience against external shocks.

(Xinhua News Agency, October 8, 2017)