AMMAN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Jordan decided Thursday to lift the interest rates on various monetary policy instruments by 25 basis points as of March 20, the state-run Petra news agency reported.
The decision was made in line with recent changes in the regional and international monetary markets' interest rates and aims to address rising inflation pressures amid global inflationary hike, said the bank's open market operations committee.
The bank also decided to extend its refinancing program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic at a worth of 1.3 billion Jordanian dinars (about 1.8 billion U.S. dollars), targeting industry, tourism, renewable energy, agriculture, and other vital sectors of the country.
In order to guarantee the appropriate financing for vital sectors, the bank decided to keep the interest rates on the refinancing program unchanged at 1 percent for projects located in Amman and 0.5 percent for projects in other governorates. ■
