IMF expects 3.8% GDP growth in Jordan

AMMAN — Jordan's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 3.8 per cent this year and 4.5 per cent in 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In its World Economic Outlook report issued Wednesday, the IMF expected Jordan to have a stable GDP growth of 4.5 per cent until 2020.

"In Jordan, lower oil prices and further reforms should contribute to higher growth this year," the report said.

The report, issued on the sidelines of the spring meetings of IMF and the World Bank in Washington, DC, also forecast that the GDP in the Middle East and North Africa would reach 2.7 per cent this year and 3.7 per cent in 2016.

The inflation rate in the Kingdom is expected to be around 1.2 per cent in 2015, the report said, and it is forecast to reach around 2.5 per cent next year.

Regionally, the report estimated that the inflation rate will reach 6.2 per cent and 6.4 per cent in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

IMF expects the current account deficit to stabilise at 7.6 per cent this year, with a chance to drop to 6.6 per cent in 2016.