Omani rial exchange rate index rises 0.4%

Muscat: The effective exchange rate index of Omani rial rose by 0.4 per cent to 105 points at the end of December 2019 compared to 104.6 points in the same period of 2018.
The total currency issued till the end of December 2019 stood at OMR1.61 billion against OMR1.60 billion issued in 2018, marking a rise of 0.4 per cent, according to according to data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) data.
The Sultanate registered an increase in narrow money supply (M1) by 8.5 per cent to reach OMR5.34 billion at the end of December 2019. Meanwhile, broad Money Supply (M2) rose 2 per cent to reach OMR17.75 billion during the period as against OMR17.39 billion in the previous year.
Total foreign assets of the Central Bank of Oman fell by 4.2 per cent, reaching OMR6.40 billion compared to the same period of 2018 when it stood at OMR6.68 billion.
Private sector deposits in commercial banks and Islamic windows showed a rise of 6.2 per cent at the end of December 2019, reaching OMR15.20 billion against OMR14.31 billion in 2018.
Total loans and financing in commercial banks rose by 3.1 per cent to OMR25.83 billion at the end of December 2019 against OMR25.05 billion in 2018.
The average interest rate on total credit touched 2.6 per cent at the end of the 12 months of 2019, recording a rise of 5.5 per cent in 2019 compared to 5.3 per cent during the same period in 2018.