RABAT- Morocco's central bank left its benchmark interest rate at 2.25 percent at a meeting on Tuesday, saying borrowing costs were in line with medium-term inflation and growth prospects.

Inflation, triggered mainly by food prices, is expected to average 2 percent in 2018 before easing to 1 percent in 2019 and 1.2 percent in 2020, the central bank, known as Bank Al Maghrib, said in a statement.

Its benchmark interest rate has been at 2.25 percent since March 2016.

The bank forecast Morocco's economic growth would slow to 3.3 percent in 2018, from 4.1 percent in 2017, and to 3.1 percent in 2019 before picking up to 3.6 percent in 2020.

Morocco also secured approval from the IMF on Tuesday for financing of about $2.97 billion in the form of a Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) to help its economy ward off external shocks. 

Rising oil and gas prices have put a strain on Morocco's budget and the central bank said the country's current account deficit should widen to 4.4 percent of GDP in 2018, up from 3.6 percent in 2017, notably due to the weight of energy imports on Morocco’s trade deficit.

Foreign direct investments are expected to reach 4.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2018 and 3.4 percent in the next two years.

Taking account of the international bond Morocco aims to issue next year, foreign exchange reserves were expected to rise from 230.4 billion dirhams ($24 billion) at the end of 2018 to 239 billion dirhams in 2019 and 235.7 dirhams in 2020, enough to cover five months of imports.

The bank projected the budget deficit would reach 3.7 percent of GDP in 2018, up from 3.6 percent last year, and rise again to 3.8 percent in 2019 before falling back to 3.6 percent in 2020.

($1 = 9.5610 Moroccan dirham)

(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi Editing by Ulf Laessing and Susan Fenton) ((ahmed.eljechtimi@thomsonreuters.com;))