Jordan: No increase in commodity prices

Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Raouf al-Rawabdeh has announced that his government will keep prices for basic commodities and services at their current level for this year. Al-Rawabdeh thereby denied press reports the government had decided to increase the prices of fuel, water, electricity and communication services.

Al-Rawabdeh, who was talking on Tuesday with the federation of the Jordanian chambers of commerce, stated that the revenues of privatization operation which started in Jordan at the end of 1998 "have so far reached US $600 million." He stressed that the government does not intend to pay part of the Jordanian foreign debts (approximately US $7 billion) from the revenues of privatization which al-Rawabdeh considered as the "money of the homeland and the coming generation."

Meanwhile, Jordanian Minister of Finance Michel Marto stressed that the Jordanian central bank's reserves of foreign currencies increased threefold during one year, adding that these revenues are currently US $2.7 billion, against US $900 million during the first half of 1999.

Marto related this increase to the increase in tourism revenues by 34% during the first four months of the current year in comparison to the same period of 1999, as well as an increase in Jordanian exports of 6.1% during the first two months of 1999. Phosphates, oil and cement are Jordan's main exports.

Marto stressed the "possibility" that the economic growth average in Jordan for this year could be 5.3% against less than 2% during 1999. Population growth in Jordan is estimated at a rate of 3.3% annually.