The Central Bank of Jordan maintained Thursday interest rates on monetary policy instruments at their current levels, without any changes - a statement by the Bank said.

The Open Market Operations Committee discussed during its third meeting of the year, the economic and monetary developments in Jordan, demonstrating the resilience of the national economy and its ability to maintain positive performance despite prevailing conditions in the region.

Foreign reserves of the Central Bank reached new record levels, currently standing at USD 19.1 billion, sufficient to cover Jordan's imports of goods and services for a period of 8.3 months.

Deposits at banks at the end of February 2024 increased by about USD 2.2 billion, with a growth rate of 5.1% on an annual basis, reaching 44.3 billion dinars.

Credit facilities granted in dinars by banks increased by about JOD 744.2 million, with a growth rate of 2.6 percent on an annual basis, reaching a total balance of JOD 33.7 billion. The latest financial strength indicators, as they were at the end of 2023, confirm that the Jordanian banking sector enjoys strength and resilience - the statement said.

The continuation of balanced economic policies by the government and the central bank over the past two years has helped contain inflationary pressures in the Kingdom, leading to stability in inflation rates in recent periods at acceptable and suitable levels for economic activity, with inflation reaching 1.7 percent during the first quarter of 2024, down from 4.2 percent in 2022.

According to the Central Bank, Jordan’s economy achieved a real economic growth rate of 2.6 percent for the year 2023, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from its level recorded in the previous year.

Preliminary data indicate a tangible decrease in the current account deficit to 3.5 percent of GDP in 2023, compared to 7.8 percent in 2022.

This comes in light of the decline in the deficit in the trade balance by 11 percent, and the increase in the surplus of the services account by 62.8 percent, driven by an increase in tourism income by 27.4 percent in 2023.

Up until this point in 2024, data showed an increase in remittances of workers during the first two months of 2024 by 4.6 percent to reach USD 593.8 million, while tourism income reached USD 1.6 billion during the first quarter of 2024, compared to USD 1.7 billion during the same quarter of the previous year.

The Central Bank affirmed that it closely monitors regional and global economic developments, as well as regional and international central banks' trends regarding interest rates, and will continue to study their implications for the national economy.

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