Oman’s revenues up 23.2% to OMR4.09bn

Total government expenditures rose by 6.1% to OMR4.83bn from January to May 2018, compared to OMR4.55bn for same period last year

MUSCAT: Government revenues in the Sultanate stood at OMR4.09 billion for the first five months of 2018, up 23.2 per cent over the same period last year, thanks to a major recovery in oil prices.

Higher oil prices caused a 34.8 per cent surge in the Omani government’s net oil revenues to OMR2.38 billion during the January to May 2018 period, against OMR1.76 billion during the same period last year, according to data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Revenues from natural gas grew 17.4 per cent to OMR682.60 million, while customs duty and corporate income tax contributed OMR88.50 million and OMR352.30 million, respectively, during the same period.

Meanwhile, total government expenditures increased by 6.1 per cent to OMR4.83 billion from January to May 2018, compared to OMR4.55 billion for the same period last year, according to the NCSI report.

Of this, current expenditure roses by 12.5 per cent to OMR3.57 billion, while investment expenditures grew by 1.1 per cent to OMR1.07 billion in the first five months of 2018, the NCSI report showed. Participation and support, on the other hand, fell by 40.6 per cent during same period to OMR189.60 million, compared to OMR319.2 million last year.

The Sultanate’s fiscal deficit for the January to May 2018 period plunged by 46.2 per cent to OMR1.09 billion, from a high of OMR2.03 billion during the same period last year, mainly due to a rise in oil revenues in the aftermath of a major recovery in crude oil prices in international markets.