CBO's foreign assets up 9.5% to OMR7.25 billion by March

Muscat: The foreign assets of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) increased by 9.5 per cent to reach OMR7.25 billion at the end of March 2022 compared to OMR6.62 billion during the same period in 2021.

The total volume of local liquidity increased by 3.6 per cent to reach OMR20.54 billion at the end of March 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, which amounted to OMR19.85 billion, the data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) reveal.

The narrow money supply (M1), which consists of total cash outside the banking system in addition to current accounts and demand deposits in local currency, increased by 5.5 per cent to reach OMR6.7 billion by March 2022, compared to OMR5.69 billion during the same period from 2021.

On the other hand, the total private sector deposits with commercial banks and Islamic windows in the Sultanate of Oman increased by 2.4 per cent to reach OMR17.49 billion at the end of March 2022, compared to OMR17.89 billion during the same period in 2021.

The NCSI data indicated that the total loans and financing of commercial banks increased by 2.8 per cent to reach OMR27.95 billion at the end of March 2022 AD, compared to OMR27.19 billion during the same period in 2021. The average interest rate on total loans witnessed a decrease of 0.3 per cent at the end of March.

The effective exchange rate index of the Omani Rial witnessed an increase of 4.2 per cent to record 108.3 points, compared to 103.9 points in the same period in 2021.