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Ammon News - International credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has affirmed Jordan’s B+/B sovereign credit rating, maintaining a stable outlook despite global uncertainty, with crude oil and food prices pushing higher amid the recent Ukrainian crisis and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

S&P said that even though the rate of unemployment is still above the pre-pandemic level, it is falling, according to a Prime Ministry statement.

The unemployment rate hit a peak of 25 per cent during the first quarter of 2021 and dropped to 23.2 per cent during the third quarter.

The agency expects an additional economic recovery in 2022, forecasting a real GDP growth rate of 2.5 per cent and projecting budget deficit to go down by 1.5 per cent, compared with 2021.

The economic recovery is attributed to the International Monetary Fund-supported efforts made by the government during the pandemic, with the aim to increase government revenues through combating evasion, tax avoidance and improving compliance, as well as spending control measures, the agency noted.

The agency projected debt-to-GDP level ratio to reach 78 per cent in 2025, despite its increase due to the pandemic and other challenges.

On the current global conditions due to the recent Ukrainian-Russian crisis, the agency lauded the government’s policy to mitigate the effects of higher oil prices, as well as commended precautionary measures to avoid increasing food prices, as the Kingdom’s strategic reserve can cover local consumption of wheat for 17 months.

The agency’s report was issued following several meetings with the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Jordan and Jordan’s development partners, which “positively reflects on the confidence of international institutions and the international community in the resilience of the Jordanian economy and its ability to recover”, according to the statement.