Muscat, Oman — Foreign assets at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) grew by 27.4 percent to RO 6.855 billion ($17.88 billion) by the end of July 2023, compared to the corresponding period in 2022 data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) show.
Initial data issued by the NCSI showed that local liquidity stood at RO 21.362 billion, an increase of 4.9 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2022.
Narrow money supply, which consists of total cash outside the banking system in addition to current accounts and demand deposits in local currency, decreased by 5.1 percent to RO 5.599 billion, compared to RO 5.898 billion at the end of July 2022.
Meanwhile, private sector deposits in commercial banks and Islamic windows at the end of July 2023 stood at RO 18.168 billion, up by 6.5 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2022 (when it was worth RO 17billion).
Total loans and financing in commercial banks and Islamic windows grew by 8.7 percent by the end of July 2023 to RO 30.272 billion, compared to RO 27.860 billion.
The average interest rate on total loans decreased 0.8 percent at the end of July 2023 by 5.397 percent, while the actual exchange rate index of the Omani Rial stabilized at 113.8 points at the end of July 2023.
