Oman’s GDP at current prices top OMR20 billion

Muscat: Oman’s gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices reached OMR20.394 billion in the first half of 2023 (up to the end of June 2023) compared to OMR20.889 recorded in the same period of 2022, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The NCSI data further revealed that the Oman’s GDP at the current price during the second quarter of 2023 reached OMR10.085 billion compared to OMR 11.146 billion during the same period in 2022, reflecting a decrease of 9.5 percent.

This decline in the GDP is basically due to the dip in the oil activities which fell by 18.3 percent to OMR3.646 billion during the second quarter of 2023 compared to OMR4.460 billion during the same period in 2022.

The crude oil activities decreased by 19.5 percent at OMR3.170 billion while the activities of natural gas decreased by 9.2 percent to OMR475.600 million.

The non–oil activities decreased by 3.6 percent during the second quarter of 2023 to OMR6.861 billion compared to OMR7.121 billion at the end of second quarter 2022.

The total industrial activities registered OMR1.630 billion compared to OMR2.225 billion during the second quarter of 2022.

The activities of agriculture, forestry and fisheries were estimated at OMR206.100 million and service activities at OMR5.024 billion.

Oman’s outlook

In April 2023, Fitch Ratings had revised Oman’s outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the rating at ‘BB’, in a report.

According to Fitch, the positive outlook reflects a significant reduction in Oman’s debt to GDP as a result of fiscal consolidation measures, high oil prices and the associated reduction of external liquidity risks.

The agency said that the measures taken by the government helped to contain public debt, stating that the debt to Gross Domestic Product fell from 61 percent at the end of 2021 to 40 percent at the end of 2022.

 - With ONA inputs