Broad money supply in Oman grows 3.7% year-on-year

Muscat: The broad money supply witnessed a growth of 3.7 per cent on an annual basis to reach OMR20.6 billion at the end of August 2022.

This is due to an increase in cash in its narrow sense by 5 per cent and an increase of 3.2 per cent in its quasi-cash.

This consists of total savings deposits and term deposits in Omani rials plus certificates of deposit issued by banks, in addition to margin accounts and all foreign currency deposits with the banking sector.

During the same period, cash with the public decreased by 7 per cent, while demand deposits increased by 8.8 per cent.

With regard to the interest rate structure of conventional commercial banks, the weighted average interest rates on deposits in Omani rials recorded a slight decrease from 1.977 per cent in August 2021 to 1.897 per cent in August 2022.

The weighted average interest rates on loans in Omani rials also increased from 5.400 per cent to 5.447 per cent during the same period.

As for the average interest rates in the interbank lending market for one night, it witnessed an increase of 2.854 per cent in August 2022, compared to 0.482 per cent in August 2021.

This came as a result of the weighted average increase in interest rates on repurchases to 3 per cent, compared to 0.5 per cent during the same period last year, in line with the policies of the US Federal Reserve.