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Jordan wins praise from IMF team

Amman, December 29, 2012

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) team lauded Jordan for continuing sound macroeconomic policies aimed at reducing fiscal and external imbalances in a socially acceptable way despite major challenges.

In its first review of the Jordan’s stand-by arrangement (SBA), Kristina Kostial, the IMF Mission chief for Jordan, said, "Jordan performed well under the program in 2012.

The country has faced challenges during the year from the disruption of the flow of natural gas, the ongoing conflict in Syria, and an acceleration of influx of refugees."

"Combined with higher oil and food prices and a shortfall in grants, this has put further pressure on the country’s economy. Nonetheless, growth is expected to increase slightly to 3 per cent compared with 2.6 percent in 2011, while average inflation is expected to be around 5 per cent for the year," she noted.
 
“Despite this challenging environment, the authorities have been implementing sound macroeconomic policies aimed at reducing fiscal and external imbalances in a socially acceptable way," said Kostial.

"The removal of general subsidies on all fuel products except LPG on November 14 was an important step. It reduced costs and risks to the budget from fluctuations in oil prices. Introducing targeted transfers at the same time mitigated the impact of fuel price increases for a large part of the population.," she added.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: economy | Jordan | IMF |

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