AMMAN — The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) on Thursday announced a 25-basis-point reduction to the main policy rate and all other key monetary policy instruments, effective next Sunday.

 

The Open Market Operations Committee of the CBJ, during its eighth and final meeting of the year, reiterated the strength of monetary stability in the Kingdom, citing a significant increase in foreign currency reserves at the CBJ, which reached $24.6 billion at the end of November, an amount sufficient to cover 8.8 months of the Kingdom’s imports of goods and services.

 

Inflation also remained contained, standing at a low 1.8 per cent during the first eleven months of the year, the committee said, according to a CBJ statement.

 

Banking sector indicators continued to show solid performance, the CBJ said, noting that total deposits held by banks rose by 7.3 per cent year-on-year to JD49.3 billion at the end of October, while credit facilities extended by banks increased by 3.9 per cent to JD36.1 billion. Jordanian banks also maintained strong financial positions and high liquidity levels, reinforcing the sector’s resilience and its ability to withstand shocks.

 

On the economic front, the national economy continued to perform positively this year, with tourism revenues rising by 6.5 per cent in the first ten months of 2024 to reach $6.6 billion, while remittances from Jordanians abroad grew by 4.1 per cent during the first three quarters, totalling $3.3 billion.

 

Total exports posted a significant rise of 8.8 per cent in the same period, reaching $10.8 billion.

 

Foreign direct investment also showed improvement, with net inflows surging by 36.4 per cent in the first half of 2024 compared with the same period last year, reaching $1 billion.

 

Economic growth remained steady, recording 2.8 per cent in the second quarter of the year, following 2.7 per cent growth in the first quarter.

 

The CBJ reaffirmed its commitment to closely monitoring local, regional and global economic, financial and monetary developments and taking the necessary measures to preserve monetary stability and ensure a supportive, stable environment for sustainable economic growth.