AMMAN, Oct. 29 (Petra) – The Open Market Operations Committee of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) convened for its seventh policy meeting of 2026 on Thursday, electing to maintain benchmark interest rates across all monetary policy instruments at their existing levels.

The decision reflects a holistic assessment of macroeconomic, monetary, and financial metrics across local, regional, and international vectors. The policy pause aligns with the central bank’s core mandate to preserve monetary stability, defend the currency peg, and sustain the yield differential supporting Dinar-denominated assets.

Monetary and systemic indicators continue to demonstrate underlying fundamentals. CBJ gross foreign exchange reserves stood at $28.5 billion at the end of Q3 2026, providing a comfortable import cover buffer exceeding nine months of goods and services. Headline inflation remained anchored at a moderate year-to-date average of 2.26 percent through September, while the banking system maintains sound capitalization and liquidity positions to support private-sector credit expansion.

On the real economy side, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) accelerated by 3.0 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, outperforming baseline projections.

This real sector output was mirrored by robust external account performance. Tourism receipts expanded 4.9 percent year-to-date through Q3 to reach $6.4 billion. Worker remittances posted a sharp 14.5 percent surge through August, totaling $3.4 billion, while total merchandise exports registered an 11.2 percent expansion over the same period, reaching $10.5 billion.

The CBJ noted that these high-frequency indicators underscore the structural resilience of the domestic economy and its capacity to sustain a non-inflationary growth trajectory amid external macroeconomic spillovers.

The Central Bank reiterated its commitment to continuous surveillance of domestic and global monetary conditions, standing ready to deploy counter-cyclical or prudential tools as necessary to safeguard financial system stability and support overall economic performance.

//Petra// AA