Broad money supply in Oman tops OMR21bn

Muscat: The broad money supply in Oman witnessed a growth of 1.8 percent on an annual basis to reach OMR21.1 billion at the end of April 2023.

While narrow money supply decreased by 0.9 percent, the increase in cash in the broad money was attributed to the increase in quasi-cash by 2.8 percent, which consists of the sum of savings deposits and time deposits in Omani rials plus certificates of deposit issued by banks, in addition to margin accounts and all deposits in foreign currency with the banking sector.

During the same period, cash with the public decreased by 5.3 percent, while demand deposits increased by 0.4 percent.

With regard to the interest rate structure of conventional commercial banks, the weighted average interest rate on deposits in Omani rials increased from 1.891 percent in April 2022 to 2.192 percent in April 2023. The weighted average interest rate on loans in Omani rials decreased from 5.366 percent to 5.469 percent during the same period.
As for the average interest rates in the interbank lending market for one night, it recorded an increase of 5.147 percent in April 2023, compared to 0.630 percent in April 2022.

This came as a result of the increase in the weighted average interest rate on repurchase operations to reach 5,500 percent, compared to 0.5 percent during the same period last year, in line with the policies of the US Federal Reserve.

Assets of Islamic banking sector reach OMR6.7bn
The total assets of Islamic banks and windows in the Sultanate of Oman increased by 9.8 percent to about OMR 6.7 billion at the end of April 2023.

Data issued by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) indicated that the total balance of financing granted by the Sharia-compliant banking entities in Oman engaged in this activity increased by 13.3 percent to reach about OMR5.6 billion.
Deposits with Islamic banks and windows increased by 11 percent to reach about OMR5 billion at the end of April 2023.