Wednesday 18 / December / 2024
Muscat: Oman's gross domestic product at current prices reached OMR20.4 billion at the end of the second quarter of this year compared to about OMR20.9 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2022, a decrease of 2.4 percent.
This was due to the decrease in the average price of oil which was recorded at $81.4 compared to $90.4 at the end of the second quarter of 2022.
At the end of the second quarter of 2023 the state’s general budget recorded a surplus of about OMR656 million, while the total value of spending decreased by 4.3 percent and total revenues also declined by 5.7 percent.
The total value of the surplus in the trade balance was about OMR3.7 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2023, a decrease of about OMR1.2 billion compared to the end of the second quarter of last year. The value of merchandise exports decreased by 12.6 percent, recording about OMR10.9 billion, and the value of merchandise imports also decreased by 4.8 percent to OMR7.2 billion.
In monetary indicators, the purchasing power of the Omani riyal increased by 1.6 percent at the end of the second quarter of 2023 compared to the end of the same quarter of last year, as the real exchange rate recorded about 115.3 points.
Total domestic liquidity also increased by 3.4 percent to OMR21.5 billion at the end of 2023 second quarter compared to the same quarter last year. The total value of loans and financing granted through commercial banks and Islamic windows amounted to OMR30.3 billion, an increase of 6.5 percent compared to the end of the second quarter of last year.
The total value of personal loans amounted to OMR9.2 billion, while the average interest rate on total loans was 5.4 percent, down by 1.2 percent compared to the end of the same quarter last year, while the ratio of total loans to deposits reached 110 percent.
The total value added of non-oil activities in the Sultanate of Oman increased by 0.3 percent at the end of the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, recording OMR13.8 billion, according to statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Service activities led this increase, as it recorded a growth of 7.8 percent, in contrast to a decrease in the added value of agriculture, forestry, and fishing by 2.5 percent, and a fall in industrial activities by 16.4 percent.
The added value of petroleum activities decreased at the end of the second quarter of this year by about OMR613.5 million to reach OMR7.2 billion at the end of 2023 second quarter compared to the end of the second quarter of last year.
The added value of crude oil decreased by 8.6 percent to OMR6.3 billion while the added value of natural gas reached OMR2.3 billion Omani rials.
