Jordan cabinet unveils deficit budget for fiscal 2010

Amman - Jordan's cabinet on Tuesday endorsed a deficit budget for fiscal 2010, projecting spending of 5.46 billion Jordanian dinars (7.71 billion dollars), according to an official statement. The budget includes a deficit of 685 million dinars, or 3.9 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.

It is the difference between projected spending and the sum of revenues estimated at 4.445 billion dinars and grants by foreign countries expected to reach 330 million dinars in 2010.

The budget deficit grew dramatically in 2009 to an unprecedented level of 1.178 billion dinars, or 7.3 per cent of GDP, due to a drastic drop in foreign aid and rising public spending, a fallout from the global financial crisis, the Finance Ministry said.