Friday 17 / May / 2024
MUSCAT: Oman government’s revenues rose by 43.4 percent to reach OMR10.6 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2022 compared to OMR7.4 billion at the end of the same quarter of 2021.
Total public spending increased by 12.5 percent to reach OMR9.4 billion and the general budget surplus in the third quarter of 2022 reached OMR1.1 billion. The ratio of the surplus of the general budget to gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices has reached 3.5 percent, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) data.
GDP increase
The value of gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices increased by about 30.4 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2022 to reach OMR32 billion compared to OMR24.6 billion at the end of the same quarter of 2021, according to the NCSI Quarterly National Accounts Indicators: September 2022.
The increase in the GDP is attributed to the increase in the added value of oil activities by 72.5 percent, and the added value of non-oil activities by about 14.9 percent.
The added value of oil activities increased by OMR5.2 billion, recording OMR12.5 billion, compared to OMR7.2 billion at the end of the same quarter of the previous year.
Crude Oil Contribution
This is due to the increase in the added value of crude oil by 79.1 percent, to reach OMR10.9 billion, compared to about OMR6.1 billion at the end of the same quarter of the previous year. The added value of natural gas increased by about 36.7 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of the year 2021.
The report indicated that the total value added of non-oil activities at the end of the third quarter of the year 2022 increased by 14.9 percent compared to the same period of the year 2021, to record OMR20.8 billion.
This is due to the increase in the added value of industrial activities by about 28.6 percent, of agriculture, forestry and fishing by about 12.4 percent and of service activities by 9.7 percent.
As for the increase in the added value of industrial activities, it is due to the increase in the added value of manufacturing industries by 65.6 percent, of mining and quarrying by 15.5 percent and in the supply of electricity, water and sanitation activities by 3 percent.
Foreign Trade
In foreign trade indicators, the report indicates an increase in the value of the surplus in the trade balance at the end of the third quarter of 2022 by OMR4.9 billion compared to the same period in 2021 to reach OMR7.8 billion.
The increase in the surplus in trade balance is attributed to the increase in the value of exports. Merchandise exports increased by about 61 percent at the end of the third quarter of the year 2022 reaching OMR19.1 billion compared to OMR11.9 billion in the same period of 2021.
The value of merchandise imports also increased by 26.6 percent reaching OMR11.3 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2022 compared to OMR8.9 billion at the end of the corresponding same quarter of 2021. On the other hand, the value of re-exports decreased by 4.5 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2022 reaching OMR972.6 million.
Rise in commodity Exports
The data indicated an increase in commodity exports, attributed to the increase in the value of oil exports by 76.1 percent in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of the year 2021. Also the value of non-oil exports increased by 50.1 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021.
In terms of monetary situation indicators, the broad money supply (M2) increased by 3.8 percent reaching OMR20.7 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2022 compared to the end of the same quarter of 2021.
The narrow money supply (M1) increased by about 1.8 percent reaching OMR5.8 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2022 compared to the end of the same quarter of the year 2021.
The total value of private sector deposits increased by 0.3 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2022 reaching OMR17.3 billion, compared to OMR17.2 billion at the end of the same quarter of 2021.
Purchasing Power
The purchasing power of the Omani riyal increased by 12.6 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2022, as the real exchange rate index scored 118.2 points compared to 105.0 points at the end of the same quarter of 2021.
The total value of loans and financing granted through commercial banks and Islamic windows increased by about 3.9 percent at the end of the third quarter of the year 2022 to reach about OMR28.8 billion, compared to OMR27.7 billion at the end of the same quarter of 2021. The total value of personal loans also increased by 2.4 percent to reach OMR8.9 billion, while the average interest rate on total loans reached 5.4 percent at the end of the third quarter of this year, down by 1.4 percent from the same period of the previous year.
