CBJ Governor: Monetary Position is Sound & Stable

Despite the hardships that face the national economy such as the rise in budget deficit and the current account as well as weak economic growth, the national economy is able to face challenges due to the sound economic policies adopted by the Kingdom, Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Governor Sharif Faris Sharaf said. He stressed in an interview with Petra that the CBJ will continue linking the Jordanian Dinar to the US Dollar and fix the exchange rate which has proved to be successful over the years as it conforms with national economic policies and enhances financial and monetary stability. The CBJ governor expected the national economy to grow by 3.3% this year in light of results that have been achieved by economic sectors and resulted in a 2.3% growth in the first quarter of this year. On the drop in foreign reserves due to the decline in remittances from Jordanians working abroad as well as tourism revenues, Sharaf said the value of foreign reserves is very satisfactory despite the current conditions in the Kingdom, adding that reserves are enough to cover imports for 7 months. "Linking the Jordanian Dinar to the US Dollar has actively served the Jordanian economy," he said, adding this policy contributed to enhancing monetary stability through maintaining a low inflation rate and increasing competitiveness of national exports which achieved a high growth over the past years. "This policy also boosted confidence in the Jordanian economy and Dinar, a fact which enabled the CBJ to increase its foreign reserves which reached record levels, the governor added. Foreign reserves currently stand at $11.9 billion and are sufficient to cover the Kingdom''s imports for almost 7 months. National exports also grew to unprecedented levels that reached 12.1 % in average over the past 5 years.