IMF provides Jordan with $258m loan

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on Saturday providing Jordan with a 258 million-U.S. dollar loan, the state-run Petra news agency reported. Jordan's Finance Minister Umayyah Toukan said the amount is part of a deal with the IMF to provide Jordan with 2 billion dollars to help the country's economy. Jordan has so far received a total of 774 million dollars from the loan package. The minister said Jordan's government will continue the economic and financial reform program as agreed with the IMF. Meanwhile, he said the losses of the state-owned National Power Electric Co. are expected to rise sharply this year as the government is importing expensive fuel for power generation after a recent cut in natural gas supply from Egypt.