Oman recorded OMR5.9bn trade surplus last year
The country’s GDP decreased to OMR29.3 billion in 2019 compared to OMR30.7 billion in 2018
MUSCAT: The Sultanate’s trade balance in 2019 recorded a surplus of OMR5.9 billion, down by 4.7 percent from the surplus recorded in 2018, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
In the fourth issue of the Economic Outlook of Oman highlighting the Sultanate’s economic performance during 2019, the NCSI has released the prospective developments witnessed due to the global economic impact.
The NCSI report highlights the Sultanate’s economic performance in 2019, which recorded a decline in the growth of GDP at current prices by 4.3 percent as a result of the decrease in the value added of oil activities by 8.4 percent and a decrease in non-oil activities by 1.5 percent. The GDP decreased to OMR29.3 billion in 2019 compared to OMR30.7 billion in 2018.
The report shows that the deficit in the Sultanate’s general budget reached OMR2.62 billion, recording a decline in the total revenue by 3.3 percent, while the total public spending decreased by 2.9 percent, recording OMR13.2 billion.
The decrease in the Sultanate’s public spending in 2019 was due to the decrease in investment expenditures in by 7.4 percent compared to the previous year.
The report states that the domestic liquidity (M2) in Oman grew by 2 percent in 2019, reaching OMR17.8 billion, compared to OMR17.4 billion in 2018. This increase in 2019 was due to the increase in the money supply in its narrow sense (M1) by 8.5 percent
in 2019, reaching OMR5.3 billion, compared to the previous year.
The Economic Outlook of Oman also shows that the total deposits in the Sultanate’s commercial banks increased by 0.3 percent in 2019, reaching OMR20.1 billion, compared to the previous year of 2018, where it reached OMR20 billion. This increase is attributed to an increase by 3.9 percent in the total private sector and an increase by 0.7 percent in the government sector deposits - ministries and other government agencies, while the deposit of other public establishment decreased by 27.5 percent in 2019, compared to the previous year.
The report points out that Muscat Securities Market index declined by 7.9 percent in 2019, reaching 3.981 points, compared to the previous year of 2018. The Shariah Index also declined by 9.4 percent in 2019, compared to 2018.
The report also states out that the volume of foreign direct investment in the Sultanate till the end of the fourth quarter of 2019 reached OMR14.6 billion, compared to OMR12.7 billion in 2018, while the inflow volume of foreign direct investment till the end of the fourth quarter of 2019 reached OMR1.9 billion.
It shows that the tourism share in GDP increased from 2.2 percent in 2018 to 2.5 percent in 2019, while direct value added of the tourism sector increased by 4.1 percent in 2019, recording OMR717.9 million, compared to
OMR689.5 million in 2018. The tourism balance recorded a deficit of OMR256.4 million in 2019, down from the recorded deficit in 2018, reaching OMR19.7 million. The Sultanate’s inflation for the base year (2012) rate was 0.1 percent in 2019, compared to 0.9 percent in 2018.
The volume of trade exchange in the Sultanate decreased by 7.8 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year, reaching about OMR23.9 billion, compared to OMR26 billion in 2018. This decrease was due to a drop in the value of commodity imports by 9.5 percent, and the commodity exports which declined by 7.2 percent in 2019, compared to 2018.
The report also points out that the labor market and employment recorded a decline by 2.5 percent in 2019, while the total number of workers in the Sultanate in 2019 reached 2.16 million, compared to about 2.21 million workers in 2018.
The percentage of workers in the private and family sector reached 89 percent of the total number of workers, compared to only 11 percent in the government sector.
The economic outlook of Oman report points out that, according to the expectations of the Arab Monetary Fund, the Sultanate’s GDP growth may decrease by 3.8 percent due to the impact of the performance of oil and non-oil activities, due to the repercussions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.