Inflation up more than 3% in Jordan during first half of 2022

Jordan experienced an increase in inflation during the first half of the year. 

The Hashemite Kingdom’s Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, increased 3.34% in the first six months of 2022. The index in June rose 5.17% compared to the same month last year. Fuel rose 1.26%, transportation 0.95% and rents 0.79% during that period, Jordan’s Department of Statistics said today. 

Why it matters: Jordan has not had very high inflation in recent years. The annual inflation rate for consumer prices was 0.8% in 2019, 0.3% in 2020 and 1.3% in 2021, according to data from The World Bank. 

Jordan’s inflation rate could finish considerably higher this year, however. The American credit ratings giant Fitch Solutions said in May that it predicts inflation to rise to 3.6% this year. The firm also predicts more social unrest in the kingdom due to high inflation and unemployment. 

Jordan has a particularly high rate of youth unemployment, which is around 30%, according to the United Nations. Unemployment is one of the causes of drug addiction among youth. 

The inflation rate in Jordan remains much lower than that of some other Middle Eastern states. In Turkey, annual inflation recently went over 78%. Last month, Egypt’s annual inflation rose to 14.7%. In March, Lebanon’s annual inflation increased to a whopping 208%. 

Israel’s annual inflation is more comparable to Jordan’s, reaching 4% in April.

Know more: In June, the humanitarian organization Mercy Corps reported that Jordan’s fuel prices have not increased considerably due to government fuel subsidies. There were rare massive protests in Jordan in 2012 due to the government lifting of fuel subsidies. 

On July 26, Jordan reported that its Industrial Producers' Price index increased nearly 16% from January to May of this year. A producer price index is a measure of inflation based on the prices producers receive for their output. 

Editor's note: this article was updated on July 26 to include information on Jordan's Industrial Producer Price index.