Oman’s inflation rate touches 1.6 per cent
The average annual inflation in the Sultanate was 1.6 per cent last year.
MUSCAT: The average annual inflation in the Sultanate was 1.6 per cent last year.
However, the economic activity in the Sultanate improved in 2017 after having contracted in the previous two consecutive years mainly due to a recovery in crude oil prices. The average price of Omani Crude during 2017 stood at $51.30 per barrel as against $40.10 per barrel in the previous year.
The recovery in the economy seen between January and September 2017 has been fairly broad-based with the oil sector growing at 23.9 per cent and the non-oil sector registering a growth of 4.9 per cent with overall gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 10.1 per cent.
Policy measures aimed at ra- tionalising expenditure and increasing revenue helped in fiscal consolidation last year. The financial health of banks in terms of asset quality, provision coverage and capital adequacy remained strong.
The banking sector in the Sultanate continued to witness reasonable growth and supported the economic diversification initia- tives including credit for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The combined balance sheet of conventional and Islamic banks provides a complete overview of the financial intermediation taking place in the banking system in the Sultanate. The total outstanding credit extended by other depository corporations stood at OMR23.60 billion at the end of December 2017, a growth of 6.4 per cent over the level witnessed a year ago. Credit to the private sector increased by 6.5 per cent to OMR21 billion at the end of December 2017. Of the total credit to the private sector, the household sector (mainly under personal loans) stood at 46.1 per cent closely followed by the non-financial corporate sector. -