Oman's broad money supply grows by 11% to OMR24.8bn

Muscat: The broad money supply in the Sultanate of Oman witnessed a growth of 11 percent on an annual basis to reach OMR24.8 billion by the end of November 2024.

Data issued by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) indicated that this increase came as a result of the increase in narrow money by 22.1 percent and quasi-money by 7.1 percent, which consists of the total savings deposits and time deposits in Omani rials plus certificates of deposit issued by banks in addition to margin accounts and all foreign currency deposits in the banking sector.

During the same period, cash held by the public decreased by 8 percent while demand deposits increased by 30.1 percent.

With regard to the interest rate structure of conventional commercial banks, the weighted average interest rate on deposits in Omani riyals increased from 2.603 percent in November 2023 to 2.733 percent in November 2024, while the weighted average interest rate on loans in Omani riyals increased from 5.485 percent to 5.667 percent during the same period.

The average overnight interbank lending market interest rate decreased to 4.563 percent in November 2024 compared to 5.459 percent in November 2023.

This came as a result of the decline in the weighted average interest rate on repurchase operations to reach 5.308 percent compared to 6 percent during the same period last year, in line with the policies of the US Federal Reserve.