The Jordanian finance ministry has reported an estimated budget surplus in the first two months of the year of JD152.5m ($215m) compared to a JD33m deficit for the same period last year, Reuters has reported. The kingdom had scaled back tens of millions of dollars worth of non-essential capital projects and frozen hiring. Finance minister Mohammad Abu Hammour said that the government plans $1.4bn in budget cuts this year to slash its deficit to 6.3% of GDP and help its economy ride out the global downturn.