Morocco makes local currency more closely tied to value of dollar after market moves

Morocco's central bank has announced a shift in the weighting of the dollar and euro for the valuation of the country's currency, the dihram.

Previously the dirham's value was 80 percent determined by the euro and just 20 percent by the dollar, but now it will be just 60 percent weighted to the euro and 40 percent to the dollar.

The shift comes as the long slide of the euro against the dollar has been accompanied by a drop of the dihram against the dollar, which has gone from 8 dirhams to the dollar to nearly 10 in the last year.

The statement said updating the basket of currencies in this way is the "first step in the transition to a more flexible exchange regime."