IMF Staff Backs Two Jordan Reviews, But No Funds Have Been Released

The International Monetary Fund announced on November 3, 2026 that its staff and Jordanian authorities had reached a staff-level agreement on the sixth review of Jordan’s Extended Fund Facility and the third review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. The agreement requires approval by IMF management and the Executive Board; completing both reviews would make SDR 216.548 million (about US$294 million) available.

All quantitative performance criteria and most structural benchmarks for the sixth EFF review were met. The three reform measures due for the third RSF review remain on track for completion, so the announcement marks progress toward financing rather than its release.

The EFF review accounts for SDR 97.784 million (about US$133 million), while the RSF review accounts for SDR 118.764 million (about US$161 million). The EFF review belongs to a four-year arrangement approved on January 10, 2024 for SDR 926.37 million (about US$1.2 billion), equivalent to 270 percent of Jordan’s quota. Amounts beyond the initial access were phased over the program subject to eight reviews. The RSF arrangement was approved on June 25, 2025, with an approved size of SDR 514.650 million (about US$0.7 billion).

Growth Resilience and External Buffers

IMF staff reported real GDP growth of 3 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026 and contained inflation. Strong manufacturing, logistics services tied to the Port of Aqaba’s expanding role as a regional trade and transport hub, a favorable agricultural season, stronger-than-expected remittances and regional tourism supported activity. Those factors largely offset headwinds from the war: lower tourism inflows, higher trade and transportation costs, weaker foreign direct investment and energy-price volatility.

The current account deficit narrowed as strong exports, subdued non-energy imports and resilient remittance and regional tourism inflows offset a higher energy import bill. Central Bank of Jordan reserve coverage stayed above program targets, while the banking sector remains sound, with ample liquidity and strong capital buffers. IMF staff linked those buffers and prudent monetary and financial policies to continued confidence in the dinar’s peg to the U.S. dollar, reflected in declining dollarization.

Fiscal Consolidation and Pending Reforms

The authorities comfortably met the end-June 2026 central government primary deficit target. Prudent expenditure management broadly offset a first-half revenue shortfall of about 0.8 percent of GDP as regional spillovers weighed on tax collections. IMF staff said recovering third-quarter revenue and efforts to contain public-utility losses would support achievement of the program’s year-end fiscal targets.

IMF staff said the draft 2027 budget targets a central government primary deficit excluding grants of 0.9 percent of GDP, supported by revenue mobilization, stronger tax compliance and improved spending efficiency. The authorities’ stated objective is to reduce public debt to around 80 percent of GDP by 2028 while pursuing gradual consolidation and protecting priority social and development spending.

Structural measures include the adoption of unified sectoral licensing rules. The Aqaba–Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project and Aqaba–Shidiya–Maan Railway are progressing, and IMF staff expect them to strengthen resilience and connectivity and catalyze private investment. The RSF agenda covers a centralized register of infrastructure assets held by state-owned enterprises in construction and energy, instructions for an emergency-ready health benefits package and codified procedures for financing public-health emergencies.

The agreement establishes a path to further financing, not a completed disbursement. Management and Executive Board approval are still required, and the RSF measures remain unfinished. Beyond those steps, IMF staff said the near-term outlook remains highly contingent on the war’s duration and intensity and the persistence of regional spillovers.