Jordan’s Unemployment Rate Rises to 18.6%

FILE PHOTO: A view of a street in Amman, Jordan, October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Hamed/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of a street in Amman, Jordan, October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Hamed/File Photo
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Jordan’s Unemployment Rate Rises to 18.6%

FILE PHOTO: A view of a street in Amman, Jordan, October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Hamed/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of a street in Amman, Jordan, October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Hamed/File Photo

The unemployment rate in Jordan for the third quarter of this year has reached 18.6 percent, with an increase of 0.1 percent compared to the same period of 2017, according to a report issued by the Jordanian Statistics Department.
 
The report released on Sunday noted that the unemployment rate among men was 16.3 percent, compared to 27.1 percent among women during the period of the study. This indicates that unemployment among men increased by 0.9 percentage points, while it decline among women by 2.8 percentage points, compared to the third quarter of 2017.

The report also said that unemployment was high among holders of bachelor’s or higher degrees in comparison with other educational levels.

The results indicated that 58.2 percent of unemployed people hold a secondary education certificate or a higher degree.

Among males, who hold an undergraduate degree or higher, the rate of unemployment reached 28.1 percent, while among females it stood at 80.1 percent.

The age group which recorded the highest rate of unemployment was 15-19 years, with a rate of 46.9 percent, followed by 20-24 years, for which the rate stood at 37.7 percent, according to the Jordanian Statistics Department.
 
At the geographic level, Madaba topped Jordan’s governorates in unemployment with a rate of 24.9 percent, while Karak recorded the lowest rate of 13.3 percent.



Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
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Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

Gold prices rose over 1% to hit a two-week peak on Friday, heading for the best weekly performance in more than a year, buoyed by safe-haven demand as Russia-Ukraine tensions intensified.

Spot gold jumped 1.3% to $2,703.05 per ounce as of 1245 GMT, hitting its highest since Nov. 8. US gold futures gained 1.1% to $2,705.30.

Bullion rose despite the US dollar hitting a 13-month high, while bitcoin hit a record peak and neared the $100,000 level.

"With both gold and USD (US dollar) rising, it seems that safe-haven demand is lifting both assets," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Ukraine's military said its drones struck four oil refineries, radar stations and other military installations in Russia, Reuters reported.

Gold has gained over 5% so far this week, its best weekly performance since October 2023. Prices have gained around $173 after slipping to a two-month low last week.

"We understand that the price setback has been used by 'Western world' investors under-allocated to gold to build exposure considering the geopolitical risks that are still around. So we continue to expect gold to rise further over the coming months," Staunovo said.

Bullion tends to shine during geopolitical tensions, economic risks, and a low interest rate environment. Markets are pricing in a 59.4% chance of a 25-basis-points cut at the Fed's December meeting, per the CME Fedwatch tool.

However, "if Fed skips or pauses its rate cut in December, that will be negative for gold prices and we could see some pullback," said Soni Kumari, a commodity strategist at ANZ.

The Chicago Federal Reserve president reiterated his support for further US interest rate cuts on Thursday.

On Friday, spot silver rose 1.8% to $31.34 per ounce, platinum eased 0.1% to $960.13 and palladium fell 0.6% to $1,023.55. All three metals were on track for a weekly rise.