Effective exchange rate index of Omani rial falls by 2.8%

Muscat: The effective exchange rate index of Omani rial fell by 2.8 per cent to 102.8 points at the end of November 2020 compared to 105.8 points in the same period of 2019.

Private sector deposits in Oman's commercial banks and Islamic windows showed a rise of 10.8 per cent at the end of November 2020, reaching OMR16.45 billion against OMR14.84 billion in 2019, according to data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Total foreign assets of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) fell by 5.9 per cent, reaching OMR5.80 billion compared to the same period of 2019 when it stood at OMR6.16 billion.

The Sultanate registered an increase of 11.0 per cent in narrow money supply (M1) to reach OMR5.59 billion by the end of November 2020. Meanwhile, broad Money Supply (M2) rose also 9.7 per cent to reach OMR19.09 billion during the period as against OMR17.41 billion the previous year.

Total loans and financing in commercial banks rose by 1.9 per cent to OMR26.33 billion by the end of November 2020 against OMR25.83 billion in 2019. The average interest rate on total credit touched 5.5 per cent at the end of November 2020, recording a fall of 0.2 per cent.

The total currency issued until the end of November 2020 stood at OMR1,774.4 million against OMR1,639.9 million issued in 2019, marking rose by 8.2 per cent, according to NCSI data.