Oman’s budget deficit sees 24.7 per cent decrease

Energy Tuesday 22/October/2019 02:05 AM
By: Times News Service
Oman’s budget deficit sees 24.7 per cent decrease

Muscat: Revenue in Oman is on the rise and the deficit is plummeting, according to data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information.
A recent report shows that Oman’s government budget deficit had plunged 24.7 per cent to OMR1.4 billion by the end of August this year, down from OMR1.8 billion the previous year.
At the same time, the government’s total revenue surged 6.9 per cent to OMR 7.1 billion for the first eight months of 2019, thanks to a major recovery in oil prices.
The total public expenditure also saw a slight increase during the same period, with a rise in most items of current expenditures apart from security and defence expenses, which saw a 3.9 per cent decline. The current expenditures of civil ministries increased by 3.1 per cent, interest on loans by 6 per cent, oil production by 1 per cent, and gas production by 30.3 per cent.
Revenue from natural gas was up by 0.7 per cent to OMR1.2 billion, compared to OMR1.1 billion during the same period last year, while customs duty and corporate income tax contributed OMR142 million and OMR 570 million, respectively, during the period.
In addition, capital revenue shot up to OMR75 million during the first eight months of 2019.