Jordan Investor Confidence Index sees drop in Q2 2022 — JSF

AMMAN — The Jordan Investor Confidence Index, issued by the Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF), dropped to 178.1 points in the second quarter of this year, from 189.3 points in the first quarter of this year, the JSF announced on Monday.

The forum noted that the index of economic activity dropped to 178 points in the second quarter of this year, compared with 200 points in the first quarter of 2022, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Real GDP growth in the second quarter of 2022 rose to 2.9 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent in the first three months of the year.

The budget deficit in the second quarter of 2022 increased to JD501.7 million, compared with JD345.8 million in the first quarter.

According to the forum, the value of foreign direct investment inflows declined to JD132.4 million in the second quarter of the year, from JD260.3 million in the first quarter of 2022.

The industrial production index rose in the second quarter of 2022 to 94.3 points, compared with 90.3 points in the first quarter of the same year.

The confidence index in the monetary system dropped during the second quarter of 2022 to 156.1 points, compared with 174.9 points in the first quarter of the year.

The value of foreign currency reserves at the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) measured JD11.9 billion in the second quarter of 2022, down from JD12.7 billion in the first quarter of this year, marking a drop of 6.3 per cent.

The forum said that the difference in the interest rate between the Jordanian dinar and US dollar fell to 2.50 per cent in the second quarter of 2022, down from 2.55 per cent in the first quarter of the year.

The value of returned cheques in the second quarter of 2022 went down to JD303.1 million, compared with JD331.7 million in the first quarter of this year, registering a decrease of 8.6 per cent.

The forum added that the financial system confidence index rose in the second quarter of 2022 to 200 points, compared with 182.2 points in the first quarter of the year.

The Amman Stock Exchange index increased by 557.3 points to 4,848.4 in the second quarter of 2022, while the proportion of shares purchased at ASE by foreign investors to the total shares sold stood at 46.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2022, compared with 70 per cent in the first quarter of the year.

The forum pointed out that the value of credit granted to the private sector rose by 2.9 per cent to JD28.9 billion in the second quarter of 2022, compared with the previous quarter.