Oman’s economic recovery continues: IMF

The IMF praised Oman’s prudent fiscal management, which helped to turn fiscal and current account balances into surpluses in 2022

The Sultanate of Oman has welcomed the International Monetary Fund 2023 Article IV Consultation Report, approved by the IMF’S Executive Board on Tuesday.

The report was issued following a series of consultations between the IMF experts and over 20 government and private entities as part of the annual periodic consultations of the IMF.

At the level of domestic economy performance, the report indicates that Oman’s economic recovery continues, supported by favourable oil prices and sustained reform momentum. This manifested in the growth of the real GDP by 4.3% in 2022, primarily driven by the growth of hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon sectors, despite its slowdown in the first half of 2023 on the back of Opec+-related oil production cuts.

In addition, non-hydrocarbon growth accelerated from 1.2% in 2022 to 2.7% in the first half of 2023, supported by recovery in agricultural, forestry, fisheries and construction activities and robust services sector.

In terms of domestic prices levels, the report highlights the factors that contributed to containing inflation, which significantly receded from 2.8% in 2022 to 1.2% during JanuarySeptember 2023. These include subsidies on basic food items, caps on domestic petroleum prices and the peg to a strong US dollar. As for the internal and external balances, the IMF report praised Oman’s prudent fiscal management, which helped to turn fiscal and current account balances into surpluses in 2022 along with non-hydrocarbon primary deficit remaining on a downward trajectory.

The IMF praised the resilient banking sector in Oman, with profitability recovering to prepandemic levels. It stressed the need to accelerate Oman Vision 2040 reform plans.