Oman’s GDP declines by 14%

Muscat: Oman’s gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices registered a decline of 14.2 per cent in the first three quarters of 2015 at OMR20.09 billion, compared to OMR23.41 billion in the same period of 2014.
According to figures issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), by the end of third quarter last year, petroleum activities posted a sharp 38.5 per cent fall to record OMR6.95 billion as against OMR11.29 billion during the same period, a year ago.
Crude oil contributed OMR6,037.1 million, with a significant drop of 42.7 per cent as against OMR10,530.8 million in 2014 while natural gas posted a rise of 20 per cent to reach OMR912,300,000 as against OMR760,200,000 in the previous year.
Meanwhile, total value of non-petroleum activities registered a 4.7 per cent growth by the end of third quarter, reaching OMR14,085.3 million compared to OMR13,454.4 million last year.
The services sector witnessed a rise of 13.1 per cent at OMR12.81 billion in 2014 as against OMR11.33 billion in 2013, primarily driven by a 6.4 per cent growth in industrial activities that reached OMR4,259.2 million in the three quarters. Mining and quarrying posted an 8.5 per cent growth while manufacturing went down 1.6 per cent. Electricity and water supply grew by 13.6 per cent even as construction went up by 17.1 per cent.
Services too posted a growth of 4.0% to RO 9,512.2 million, with real estate services growing at 5.8% and financial intermediation posting a growth of 5.3%. Transport, storage and communication activities posted a growth of 4.0% while wholesale and retail trade grew by 3.0%. The growth rate in the hotels and restaurants segment was recorded at 3.2%. Public administration and defence grew 3.9%. Indirectly measured financial intermediation services posted a growth of 5.5%.
The Sultanate’s GDP at producer prices during the three quarters decreased 15.4 per cent last year to OMR20,545.3 million compared to OMR24,281.7 million last year.
Also, 35 per cent of the GDP was contributed by the petroleum activities while wholesale/retail trade, as well as public administration and defence contributed 10 per cent each during over the three quarters of 2015. Construction added 8 per cent to the GDP.