Foreign assets at Central Bank of Oman grow 12.4%

Muscat: The gross foreign assets of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) and private sector deposits at commercial banks grew by 12.4 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively, by the end of February 2017, compared with the same period in 2016.
This was revealed as per the initial data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Gross foreign assets at CBO at the end of February 2017 stood at OMR7,206.5 million, up from OMR6,411.9 million at the end of February 2016.
Private sector deposits at commercial banks at the end of February 2017 were pegged at OMR13,666.1 million, increasing from OMR12,746.8 million at the end of February 2016.
Gross loans and finance provided by commercial banks at the end of February 2017 grew by 8.1 per cent to hit OMR22,205.7 million, compared with OMR20,544.6 million at the end of February 2016.
Data also pointed out that the money issued (circulated) at the end of February 2017 declined by 2.5 per cent to OMR1,626.5 million, down from OMR1,667.5 million as of the end of February 2016.
Board Money Supply (M1), which includes gross money circulated outside the banking system, the current accounts and local currently on demand deposits decreased by 3.8 per cent to OMR5,003.0 million at the end of February 2017, compared with OMR5,200.1 million at the end of February 2016.
On the contrary, local liquidity rose by 3.9 per cent to OMR15,813.3 million at the end of February 2017, from OMR15,216.8 million at the end of February 2016.