Total loans, financing in Oman exceed OMR29.8bn

Muscat: Total loans and financing in commercial banks in the Sultanate of Oman increased by 6.8 per cent to reach OMR29,812.2 million by the end of February 2023 compared to OMR27,902.8 million during the corresponding period in 2022, according to the data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The average interest rate on total credit declined by 1.7 per cent by the end of February 2023.
The private sector’s deposits in commercial banks and Islamic windows in the Sultanate of Oman rose by 0.5 per cent to reach OMR17,512.2 million at the end of February 2022 compared to OMR17,419.5 million during the same period in 2022.

The effective exchange rate index of the Omani Rial rose by 7.1 per cent to 114.5 points compared to 106.9 points at the end of the same period in 2022. The total currency issued by the end of February 2022 declined by 5 per cent to reach OMR1,602 million compared to OMR1,687 million by the end of the corresponding period in 2022.

Meanwhile, the total foreign assets at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) decreased by 13.2 per cent by the end of February 2023 reaching OMR6,581.7 million compared to OMR7,582.0 million during the same period in 2022.

As far as Broad Money Supply (M2) is concerned, it recorded a rise of 1.8 per cent to reach OMR20,665.6 million compared to the same period in 2022 when the reported M2 stood at OMR20,305.3 million.

On the other hand, Narrow Money Supply (M1) dropped by 0.9 per cent to reach OMR5,721.6 million compared to OMR5,774.6 million during the same period in 2022.