Amman: The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) held its benchmark policy rate steady at 5.75 percent on Thursday, keeping all other monetary policy rates unchanged. This decision followed a comprehensive review of both domestic and global economic and financial conditions.
According to Jordan News Agency, the decision was made during the Open Market Operations Committee's fourth meeting of 2026. The CBJ remains focused on maintaining monetary stability while ensuring domestic interest rates align with the prevailing regional and international market conditions. The committee emphasized its commitment to closely monitoring economic and monetary developments and is prepared to take necessary actions to ensure monetary stability.
In April, the CBJ introduced a JD760 million package of pre-emptive measures, which have reportedly bolstered the resilience of the Jordanian economy against external challenges. The committee highlighted the solidity of Jordan's monetary fundamentals, noting that foreign exchange reserves increased to $27.2 billion by the end of May 2026, marking a $1.7 billion rise compared to the end of 2025. This reserve position provides an import cover equivalent to 9.5 months of the Kingdom's goods and services imports, thereby strengthening external sector stability.
Inflationary pressures have remained low, with the consumer price index rising by 1.88 percent in the first five months of 2026, slightly down from 1.97 percent in the same period in 2025. The committee also noted the continued financial soundness of the Jordanian banking sector, which displays robust liquidity buffers, strong profitability, and comfortable capital adequacy ratios.
Further positive trends were observed in external sector indicators, with remittances from Jordanians working abroad rising by 13.3 percent during the first four months of 2026 to reach $1.6 billion. National exports grew by 1.6 percent year-on-year to $3 billion in the first quarter, indicating sustained resilience in external demand. However, tourism receipts fell by 9.2 percent to approximately $2.8 billion in the first five months of 2026, primarily due to the impact of the U.S.-Iran conflict on regional travel activity.