Value of non-oil exports rises 50%

A1The 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.

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.

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.