Central Bank Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged on All Monetary Policy Tools - Jordan News

Jordan News

20-03-2025

The Open Market Operations Committee at the Central Bank of Jordan held its second meeting for 2025, where it decided to maintain the interest rates on all monetary policy tools at their current levels. اضافة اعلان The committee extensively discussed the economic, monetary, and financial developments domestically, as well as the updates on the regional and global economic environment. Available economic indicators confirm the strength of monetary stability and the resilience of Jordan's banking sector, supported by a comfortable level of foreign reserves at the Central Bank, which exceeded USD 21 billion by the end of February 2025. Data also showed that the inflation rate remained low at 2.2% during the first two months of this year, with expectations to stabilize at the same level for the entire year of 2025. This contributes to maintaining purchasing power and enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy. Regarding the banking sector, data showed positive growth reflecting its strength and public confidence. Customer deposits at banks grew by 6.8% year-on-year, reaching approximately 47 billion Jordanian dinars by the end of January 2025. Additionally, the balance of credit facilities provided by banks increased by 4.8% to around 35.1 billion dinars, highlighting the vital role of the banking sector in providing the necessary financing for economic activities, particularly investments that support sustainable economic growth. On the external sector front, the indicators continued their positive improvement. Tourism sector revenues increased by 16.3% during the first two months of 2025, reaching about USD 1.3 billion compared to the same period last year, indicating the recovery of this vital sector. Furthermore, remittances from workers abroad rose by 1.2% in January 2025, reaching about USD 320 million. In the same context, total exports increased by 5.8% in 2024, reaching a value of USD 13.3 billion. Preliminary estimates indicate that foreign direct investment flowing into the Kingdom reached approximately USD 1.6 billion in 2024, reflecting investor confidence and the attractiveness of the investment environment in the Kingdom. On the economic activity front, GDP growth recorded a rate of 2.4% during the first three quarters of 2024, with expectations for stabilization around this rate for the full year. A relative acceleration is expected, with growth reaching about 2.7% in 2025, driven by improvements in domestic and external demand, especially investment demand, and the continued positive performance of various economic sectors.
The Central Bank of Jordan emphasized its ongoing commitment to monitoring economic, monetary, and financial developments both locally and internationally. The bank also affirmed its commitment to taking all necessary measures to maintain monetary and financial stability and to contain inflationary pressures within acceptable levels.