AMMAN — The volume of foreign reserves increased
11.4 percent in the first five months of this year compared the same period of 2021, according to central
bank data, amounting now to $17.668 billion, compared to $15,852 billion in the
first five months of last year.
اضافة اعلان
On the other hand, it decreased slightly, 1.6
percent, compared to the figures at the end of April.
According to economic analyst
Mazen Irsheid, foreign
reserves declined by 2 percent at the beginning of this year, compared to the
figures at the end of 2021.
The most
important sources of foreign currency at the Central Bank, he said, are
exports, foreign investment, and expatriate remittances; of these, exports
recorded improvement, and remittances are stable.
Irsheid said that the level of reserves in Jordan is
safe and capable of paying six months-worth of imports.
Economic expert
Mufleh Al-Aqel stressed that the rise in the volume of foreign reserves is a
positive thing that denotes an increased influx of foreign currency; that
“constitutes a source of safety for the Jordanian economy”, which imports 70
percent to 80 percent of its needs.
One other reason for the increase, he stressed, was
the deposit that turned into a long-term loan from the UAE.
Wajdi Makhamreh said that the increase in potash and
phosphate exports led to an increase in foreign reserves, and “this is
economically convenient”. Also contributing to the increase, he said, are
higher tourism revenues and expatriate remittances. They all “give strength to
the Jordanian dinar and enhance donor confidence in the Jordanian economy”.
Zayan Zawaneh said that the central bank’s reserves
of gold and foreign currency are satisfying, only “we need to work on the
tourism sector because it is one of the sources of foreign currency for our
economy, in addition to export and remittances from Jordanians abroad”.
He said that the recent change of the
UAE deposit to
a soft loan amounting to $650 million helped increase in volume of foreign
reserves, which will reflect on the rate of economic growth.
He stressed that central banks alone do not create or
protect economies, which makes it incumbent on governments to integrate
financial, taxing, and commercial policies with the monetary policies set by
central banks, and Jordan should be no exception.
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