Omani rial exchange rate index rises 1.6%

Muscat: The effective exchange rate index of Omani rial rose by 1.6 per cent to 106.3 points as of the end of February 2020 compared to 104.6 points in the same period of 2019.
The Sultanate registered an increase in narrow money supply (M1) by 4.2 per cent to reach 5.22 billion rials by the end of February 2020. Meanwhile, broad money supply (M2) rose 7.2 per cent to reach 18 billion rials during the period as against 16.79 billion rials the previous year, according to data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Total foreign assets of the Central Bank of Oman fell by 5.8 per cent, reaching 6.11 billion rials in February 2020 compared to the same period of 2019, when it stood at 6.48 billion rials.
Private sector deposits in commercial banks and Islamic windows showed a rise of 64.3 per cent as of the end of March 2020, reaching 23.59 billion rials against 14.35 billion rials in 2019.
Total loans and financing in commercial banks rose by 2.5 per cent to 25.93 billion rials by the end of March 2020 against 25.29 billion rials in 2019.
The average interest rate on total credit touched 3.9 per cent at the end of 2-month period of 2020, recording a rise of 5.5 per cent in 2020 compared to 5.3 per cent during the same period in 2019.
The total currency issued until the end of March 2020 stood at 1.60 billion rials against 1.59 billion rials issued in 2019, marking a rise of 0.2 per cent, according to NCSI data.