Morocco's trade deficit increased 10.1 percent to 13.7 billion U.S. dollars between January and August this year from the same period a year earlier, the foreign exchange regulator said on Saturday.

According to the statistics, the rise in the deficit was driven by a 10.2-percent increase in imports to 31.7 billion dollars, particularly due to a hike in energy bill by 18.8 percent, raw materials by 18.1 percent and equipment by 12.5 percent.

Morocco's exports increased by 10.2 percent to nearly 18 billion dollars, but remained far less than imports.

The increase in exports was pushed by a rise of 17.7 percent in car industry, 17.6 percent in phosphate and 17.2 percent in aeronautics products.