Jordan’s Inflation Slowed for a Second Month to 2.70 Percent, and Transport Supplied 40 Percent of It
Jordan’s consumer price index rose 2.70 percent in July from a year earlier, the Department of Statistics reported on 16 August. The index fell 0.18 percent from June. Across the first seven months the average rate was 2.13 percent, against 1.94 percent in the same period of 2025.
This is a slowdown, not an acceleration. The annual rate peaked at 2.83 percent in May and was 2.79 percent in June. July is the second consecutive monthly deceleration and the third highest reading of 2026, not the highest. The index level bears this out: 115.92 in July against 116.13 in June on a 2018 base, and 112.87 in July 2025.
| Jordan CPI, year on year, 2026 | Rate |
|---|---|
| January | 1.06% |
| February | 1.17% |
| March | 1.87% |
| April | 2.49% |
| May | 2.83% |
| June | 2.79% |
| July | 2.70% |
Two groups supply two thirds of the inflation. The department publishes contributions in percentage points rather than group price changes. Transport contributed 1.08 points of the 2.70, which is 40 percent of the total from a group weighing 15.98 percent of the basket. Rents contributed 0.76 points, 28 percent of the total, from a weight of 17.54 percent. Together they account for 68 percent of the annual rate. Oils and fats added 0.29, tobacco and cigarettes 0.17 and fuel and lighting 0.13.
Several categories offset part of the rise. Fruits and nuts subtracted 0.20 points, meat and poultry 0.07, dairy products and eggs 0.05, and household appliances 0.02. Those negative contributions offset part of transport’s 1.08 points within the same headline figure. Note that food is not uniformly a drag: oils and fats added 0.29 points, the third largest positive contribution in the release.
The leadership changed during the year and that is the analytical point. Across the seven months to July, rents led with 0.71 points of the 2.13 average and transport followed with 0.52. In the July reading alone, transport leads with 1.08 and rents follow with 0.76. Rents are a slow, broad, persistent contributor. Transport is a fast one and it has moved to the front. The contributions table does not identify the driver, so whether that reflects fuel costs or another transport price is not established by this release.
Why it matters: An inflation rate decelerating for a second month, with the pressure concentrated in a single volatile group, is a different policy problem from broad-based price pressure. The Central Bank of Jordan has held its main rate at 5.75 percent since a cut on 14 December 2025, most recently on 30 July, and this data does not argue against that. For policy, the composition of inflation matters alongside external rate conditions and the requirements of monetary and exchange rate stability, which is the framework the central bank sets out in its own statement.
Outlook: Foreign reserves stood at 26.1 billion dollars at the end of June, up 4.1 billion from a year earlier and equal to 8.6 months of import cover, having fallen from 27.2 billion at the end of May. Real growth was about 2.9 percent in the first quarter. The index is compiled from 850 items, 325 food and 525 non-food, priced across a sample of 3,400 outlets.
Sources: Department of Statistics of Jordan, consumer price index release and tables for July 2026, published 16 August 2026 · Central Bank of Jordan, Open Market Operations Committee statement of 30 July 2026 and main interest rate archive. Shares of the annual rate calculated by The Edge Research Team.
