CBJ maintains interest rates amid positive economic indicators

AMMAN — The Open Market Operations Committee of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) on Thursday held its second meeting of 2025, deciding to maintain interest rates of all monetary policy instruments at their current levels.  

The committee conducted an extensive review of local economic, monetary and financial developments while also assessing regional and global economic conditions.  

Available economic indicators stressed the strength of monetary stability and the resilience of the Jordanian banking sector, supported by a comfortable level of foreign reserves at the CBJ, which exceeded $21 billion by the end of February, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The data also showed that the inflation rate remained low at 2.2 per cent during the first two months of this year, with expectations of stability at the same level for the entire year, contributing to maintaining purchasing power and enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy.  

In the banking sector, the data indicated positive growth, reflecting the sector’s strength and confidence in it. 

Customer deposits in banks grew by 6.8 per cent year-on-year to some JD47 billion by the end of January.

Meanwhile, the balance of credit facilities granted by banks increased by 4.8 per cent to about JD35.1 billion.  

Regarding the external sector's performance, indicators continued to show positive improvement, with tourism revenues increasing by 16.3 per cent in the first two months of 2025 to about $1.3 billion compared with the same period last year. 

Remittances from Jordanians expatriatesincreased by 1.2 per cent in January to some $320 million.  

Total exports increased by 5.8 per cent last year, reaching a value of $13.3 billion. 

Preliminary estimates indicate that the volume of foreign direct investment inflows into the Kingdom reached about $1.6 billion in 2024, reflecting investor confidence and the attractiveness of the investment environment in the Kingdom.  

At the economic activity level, the GDP recorded a growth of 2.4 per cent during the first three quarters of 2024, with expectations of it stabilising around this rate for the entire year.

A relative acceleration is expected to reach about 2.7 per cent during this year, driven by improved domestic and external demand, particularly investment-related demand, and the continued positive performance of various economic sectors.