JACKSON HOLE,Wyo Aug 21 (Reuters) - The governor of the Central Bank of Jordan said Friday he was not worried about inflation risks, even with oil's recent climb above $70 a barrel.
'Clearly compared to $140 last year the $70 plus it is not really a big concern at the moment,' Umayya Toukan said in an interview with Reuters TV on the sidelines of a gathering of top central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Asked about the Jordanian inflation rate, which figures released on Friday showed turned negative in July compared with a year earlier due to falling oil costs and weak domestic demand, Toukan said: 'I wouldn't place too much weight, we should wait to see the trend for the whole year as far as inflation figures are concerned.'
Toukan said he expects the Jordanian economy to grow 3 percent to 4 percent this year, compared with 6 percent to 7 percent in 2008. That is in line with the bank's previous estimates. The shortfall is due to muted levels of bank lending, which has been affected by the global crisis.
While there have been signs that the global economy has improved since last year, he said, there is still a lot to be done.
'The most important message I got from the meeting today is that we should not be complacent just because the severity of the crisis is now behind us,' he said.
(Reporting by Kristina Cooke and Dan Burns; Editing by Diane Craft)
Keywords: JORDAN INFLATION/TOUKAN
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'Clearly compared to $140 last year the $70 plus it is not really a big concern at the moment,' Umayya Toukan said in an interview with Reuters TV on the sidelines of a gathering of top central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Asked about the Jordanian inflation rate, which figures released on Friday showed turned negative in July compared with a year earlier due to falling oil costs and weak domestic demand, Toukan said: 'I wouldn't place too much weight, we should wait to see the trend for the whole year as far as inflation figures are concerned.'
Toukan said he expects the Jordanian economy to grow 3 percent to 4 percent this year, compared with 6 percent to 7 percent in 2008. That is in line with the bank's previous estimates. The shortfall is due to muted levels of bank lending, which has been affected by the global crisis.
While there have been signs that the global economy has improved since last year, he said, there is still a lot to be done.
'The most important message I got from the meeting today is that we should not be complacent just because the severity of the crisis is now behind us,' he said.
(Reporting by Kristina Cooke and Dan Burns; Editing by Diane Craft)
Keywords: JORDAN INFLATION/TOUKAN
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.