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Ammon News - In its seventh meeting of the year, the Open Market Operations Committee of the Central Bank of Jordan opted to lower interest rates on all monetary policy tools by 25 basis points, effective Sunday, November 10, 2024.

The committee affirmed that this choice followed a thorough assessment of local economic metrics and international interest rate patterns, which endorse the ongoing accommodative monetary policy initiated by the Central Bank last September.

The committee highlighted the robustness of monetary indicators and the dinar's strength, bolstered by substantial foreign reserves at the Central Bank, totaling $20.4 billion by the end of October 2024, which is adequate to cover over 8 months of the Kingdom's imports of goods and services, alongside the decrease and stabilization of the inflation rate, which reached 1.6% during the initial three quarters of 2024.

At the end of September 2024, bank deposits rose by roughly 3.1 billion dinars, achieving an annual growth rate of 7.1%, totaling 46.3 billion dinars. Additionally, credit facilities provided by banks increased by approximately 1.4 billion dinars, with an annual growth rate of 4.3%, reaching 34.7 billion dinars.

Financial safety metrics indicate the robustness of the Jordanian banking sector, showcasing a capital adequacy ratio of 17.6%, one of the highest in the region, alongside favorable legal liquidity levels of 138.8%, surpassing the Central Bank’s required rate of 100%.

The most recent economic indicators reflect the adaptability of the external sector amid the uncertainty experienced in the region. Remittances from workers rose by 3.5% in the first eight months of 2024, totaling $2.3 billion.

Tourism earnings reached approximately $5.6 billion in the first three quarters of 2024, a decline of 4.3% compared to the corresponding period last year. The Central Bank projects a reduction in the trade balance deficit of approximately 5% in the first ten months of this year, due to stronger-than-anticipated export performance during that time frame. The Central Bank predicts that the national economy will increase by 2.4% in 2024, highlighting that the growth rate observed in the first half of this year was 2.2%.

The Central Bank will persist in vigilantly observing all local, regional, and global economic, financial, and monetary changes, and will implement suitable actions to safeguard monetary and financial stability within the Kingdom, fostering an economic and banking milieu that supports increased economic growth.