Ammon News - Despite the continued fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Jordan's macroeconomic indicators have been on an upward trajectory since the beginning of the current year as the economy started to gain traction following the lifting of all closures.

According to figures compiled and seen by Petra, the Kingdom's gross domestic product grew by 3.2 percent at constant market prices in the first nine months of the current year, against the figure reported in the same period of 2020.

Official data released by the Department of Statistics showed that the construction sector expanded by 5.7 percent in the second quarter of this year, followed by the extractive industries 5.4 percent, the transportation, storage and communications sector 4.3 percent, the manufacturing sector 3.9 percent, wholesale and retail trade and the hospitality sector 3.8 percent.

A World Bank report, published last Thursday, said that Jordan’s real GDP growth is forecast to grow by 1.9 per cent in 2021 and to rise to 2.2 percent in 2022.

Jordan's public revenue jumped by a staggering JD1.207 billion in the first seven months of 2021, driven by a JD770-million increase in domestic revenue and a JD437-million increase in foreign aid, the collected data indicated.

Also, the budget deficit shrank by a massive JD729 million by the end of July against the figure reported in the same period of 2020. The Kingdom's budget deficit stood at JD522 million at the end of July, thanks to improved local revenue.

The Kingdom's public debt stood at JD27.19 billion at the end of July, comprising 85.8 per cent of estimated GDP, the data showed, noting that the debt figures exclude debt instruments held by the Social Security Investment Fund (SSIF), the investment arm of the Social Security Corporation.

Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) foreign currency reserves increased during the January-August period of this year to reach $17.155 billion, compared with $15.920 billion at the end of last year, according to the statistics.

In a similar vein, remittances by Jordanian expatriates during the first eight months of this year rose by 0.09 percent to JD1.6 billion compared with the same period of 2020, while the tourism income picked up by 14.3 percent to a staggering JD959 million, it also indicated.

Trade volume in the real estate sector until the end of September 2021 was up 11 per cent, rising to JD3.524 billion, compared with the same period in 2019, the data showed.

Moreover, the Social Security Investment Fund's assets jumped by 8 percent in the third quarter of 2021, totaling JD12.1 billion against JD11.2 billion recorded in the same period of last year, the statistics pointed out.

Meanwhile, the country's total exports during the first half of this year were about JD3.018 billion, marking a rise of 19.6 per cent, while imports were at about JD5.816 billion, rising 22.3 per cent.

Total bank assets in the Kingdom as of August of the current year were at JD58.743 billion, while total bank deposits stood at JD38.141 billion, and the credit facilities at JD29.907 billion, it revealed.

The data also revealed that unemployment in the Kingdom in the second quarter of 2021 reached 24.8 percent, signaling an a decrease of 0.2 percent compared with the first quarter of the same year.

The consumer price index (a measure of inflation) in the first 8-month of this year reached 102.14, against 101.04 for the same period last year, with a rise of 1.09%.

The Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI)'s exports during the January-September of 2021 inched up by 8 percent, to reach JD3.692 billion compared with JD3.432 billion for the same period in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) issued 28,999 certificates of origin in the first nine months of the current year, a 15.8-percent increase from 25,036 certificates issued in the corresponding period of 2020.

*Petra