Jordan's central bank cut interest rates by one-half percentage point Saturday, January 3, in a bid to stimulate the economy, said the bank's governor, Omaya Tukan.
The discount rate was cut to 6 percent, the weekly refinancing rate to 7 percent and the interbank rate to 5.125 percent. Tukan said he is now looking for a cut in rates by the banking sector that would lead to "promoting economic activity in the country."
He said the rate cut was justified by "the stability of the monetary situation and ... of the Jordanian dinar's exchange rate." Added to that, he said, is a "sufficient level" of foreign exchange reserves, now estimated at $1.9 billion, compared with less than $1 billion in 1999. This was the first rate cut in Jordan this year. —(AFP)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
