Arab News: Tobacco, tea, and food prices helped drive up Jordan’s annual inflation rate by 1.97 percent in the first four months of 2025, official data showed.
According to the Department of Statistics, the consumer price index climbed to 112.39 between January and April, up from 110.21 in the same period a year earlier.
The figures point to persistent but moderate inflationary pressure in the Jordanian economy, primarily stemming from non-essential and import-sensitive categories.
This comes as inflationary trends across the region remained mixed, with Saudi Arabia recording a 2.3 percent increase in consumer prices in March, while Oman posted a more modest rise of 0.56 percent.
Dubai’s inflation slowed to 2.79 percent due to easing food prices, whereas Egypt’s rate accelerated to 13.1 percent as food costs continued to climb.
Jordan’s consumer prices in April edged up 0.09 percent compared to March and 1.83 percent year-on-year.
“On a monthly basis, the consumer price index for April 2025 reached 112.53 compared to 110.50 for the same month in 2024, and the index for April 2025 reached 112.53 compared to 112.43 for the previous month of the same year,” the department said in a statement.
The steepest annual increase was seen in the personal effects category, which rose 19.01 percent, followed by tobacco and cigarettes at 12.65 percent.
Other notable gains included tea, coffee, and cocoa at 5.73 percent, fruits and nuts at 5.52 percent, and spices, food additives, and other foods at 5.38 percent.
“On a monthly basis, the index increased by 1.83 percent in April 2025 compared to April 2024, and showed a slight increase of 0.09 percent — less than one percentage point — compared to March of the same year,” the release added.
In April, the largest price gains compared to the previous month were observed in fruits and nuts, which jumped 9.43 percent, and personal effects, which rose 5.68 percent.
Tea, coffee, and cocoa increased by 4.73 percent, while dried and canned vegetables and legumes climbed 1.07 percent, and home maintenance costs edged up 0.45 percent.
At the same time, several product groups recorded declines in April compared to the previous year, helping to moderate overall inflation. These included household supplies, which declined by 3.04 percent, and furniture, rugs, and bedding, which decreased by 2.71 percent.
Dried and canned vegetables and legumes dropped by 1.91 percent, while fish and seafood saw a 1.65 percent decrease.
Separately, Jordan’s industrial production grew 2.73 percent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period a year earlier. The index rose to 87.62, up from 85.29, following a recalibration of the base year to 2018.
This growth was underpinned by a 3.2 percent increase in manufacturing, which constitutes 88.7 percent of the index, along with a 4.97 percent rise in electricity production. However, the quarrying sector contracted by 8.03 percent over the same period.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2600680/business-economy
