Currency issued till end-May rises 7.1% to OMR1.80 billion

Energy Sunday 18/August/2019 21:20 PM
By: Times News Service
Currency issued till end-May rises 7.1% to OMR1.80 billion

Muscat: The total currency issued till the end of May 2019 stood at OMR1.80 billion against OMR1.68 billion issued in 2018, marking a rise of 7.1 per cent, according to NCSI data.
According to data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the Sultanate registered a 1.5 per cent fall in narrow money supply (M1) to reach OMR5.18 billion at the end of May 2019. Meanwhile, broad Money Supply (M2) rose by 4.7 per cent to reach OMR17.25 billion during the period as against OMR16.48 billion the previous year.
Effective exchange rate
The effective exchange rate index of the Omani rial rose by 2.6% to 105.5 points at the end of May 2019 compared to 102.8 points in the same period of 2018, indicating the currency’s enhanced purchasing power. Total foreign assets of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) rose by 0.8 per cent, reaching OMR6.20 billion compared to the same period of 2018, when it stood at OMR6.15 billion.
Private sector deposits
Private sector deposits in commercial banks and Islamic windows showed a rise of 3.5 per cent at the end of May 2019, reaching OMR14.77 billion against OMR14.26 billion in 2018.
Total loans and financing in commercial banks rose by 6.7 per cent to OMR25.69 billion at the end of May 2019 against OMR24.07 billion in 2018.
The average interest rate on total credit touched 4.2 per cent at the end of five-month period of 2019, recording a rise of 5.4 per cent in 2019 compared to 5.2 per cent during the same period in 2018.