Oman first quarter trade surplus put at OMR492.5m

Muscat: Oman has reported a trade surplus of OMR492.500 million at the end of first quarter of 2017, according to the initial statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information ( NCSI).
The Sultanate’s trade balance saw a surplus of more than OMR1.395 billion at the end of 2016.
Oil and gas exports amounted to more than OMR5.840 billion while non-oil exports stood at more than OMR2.398 billion.
The value of commodities exported by the end of March 2017 stood at OMR2.852 billion against OMR2.586 billion, in the same period in 2016, an increase of 10.3 per cent.
The increase in exports is ascribed to the rise in oil an gas exports which formed 61 per cent of the total exports amounting to OMR1.738 billion an increase of 28. 4 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.
The imports comprising equipment and machinery stood at OMR488 million by end of first quarter 2017 an increase of 20.6 per cent against the same quarter of 2016.
Metals imported were valued at OMR289 million, an increase of 1.7 per cent. Imports of animals and animal products fell by 4.4 per cent, according to the statistics issued by the NCSI.