CBO's foreign assets rise by 27.4%

Muscat: Statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) show that total foreign assets at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) grew by 27.4 percent to OMR6,855.6 million as of the end of July 2023, compared to the corresponding period in 2022 (constituting an increase of OMR5,382.7 million.

Initial data issued by the NCSI showed that local liquidity stood at OMR21,362.6 million, an increase of 4.9 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

The narrow money supply, which consists of total cash outside the banking system in addition to current accounts and demand deposits in local currency, decreased by 5.1 percent to OMR5,599.9 million, compared to OMR5,898.9 million at the end of July 2022.
Meanwhile, private sector deposits in commercial banks and Islamic windows at the end of July 2023 stood at OMR18,168.9 million, up by 6.5 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2022 (when it was worth OMR17,066.4 million).

Total loans and financing in commercial banks and Islamic windows grew by 8.7 percent by the end of July 2023 to OMR30,272.8 million, compared to OMR27,860.4 million.

The average interest rate on total loans decreased by 0.8 percent at the end of July 2023 by 5.397 percent, while the actual exchange rate index of the Omani Rial stabilised at 113.8 points at the end of July 2023.