The Central Bank of Jordan revealed an increase in foreign currency reserves in the first seven months of this year by 16.1% on an annual basis, to reach about $ 14.13 billion, compared to about $ 12.17 billion at the end of 2019.
The recent rise in foreign exchange reserves is due to foreign loans and aid obtained by the Kingdom, as the government borrowed large sums during the current year to cover the budget deficit and face the repercussions of the new Coronavirus pandemic on the economy.
Some loans will go to pay off some of the debts and their due interest before the end of 2020, to creditors of several countries and international financing institutions. Jordan issued international bonds last July worth $ 1.75 billion, while it relied heavily on foreign aid to reduce the budget deficit and implement priority projects.
Jordan expects the cash reserves to decline in next October with the start of paying outstanding debts, as well as the decrease in remittances of Jordanians working abroad and the continuation of the Corona crisis. For the first time in Jordan's history, the public debt exceeds the gross domestic product, and is far from the target levels in the Public Debt Management Law that the government issued in 2001 with the aim of controlling the country's debt.
Source (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed Newspaper, Edited)
