RABAT - Morocco's central bank said on Thursday it plans to limit its first ever purchase operations of treasury bonds to 25 billion dirhams, as part of a push to bolster liquidity in the market.

The central bank has so far injected 16.2 billion dirhams ($1.6 bln) through treasury bond purchases on January 9 and 16.

The move comes amid lower demand for treasury bonds due to "fears of investors regarding the evolution of the benchmark interest rate," said Younes Issami of the Bank's monetary policy and foreign exchange department.

Morocco's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate in December by 50 basis points to 2.5% as it looks to curb inflation.

"Most investors have no visibility on the evolution of rates…They preferred to wait rather than invest," he said.

The Moroccan central bank limited the purchases to bonds with less than a year maturity issued less than a month ago, he said.

Buying treasury bonds is a tool of "boosting liquidity without affecting the central bank’s monetary policy," he said.

Separately, the central bank is considering issuing an international bond in 2023, he said without offering further details on the amount and the currency, Issami said.

Foreign debt represented 15.5% of Moroccan GDP in 2022 and is expected to stand at 16.5% in both 2023 and 2024, according to central bank figures.

(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi; Editing by Toby Chopra)