Oman sees strong GDP growth in H1, 2022

Dr. Nasser Al-Maawali, Undersecretary for Economy, said that the economic recovery of the Sultanate was reflected in the rise in the trade balance surplus, which grew by 185.8 percent to reach about RO4.71 billion during the first half of 2022.

He said that the qualitative improvement in the performance of the economy was due to the successful economic and financial policies initiated by the government, including

stimulus packages.

He said that maintaining reasonable levels of inflation has been due to the fundamentals of the economic policy as it enabled the Sultanate to tackle the supply chain crisis of foodstuffs.

He said the performance of the public finances indicates a decrease in the total public debt of the Sultanate of Oman by 11.5 percent to reach about RO18.4 billion at the end of August 2022 and added that the current economic conditions provide broader and flexible options on matters related to economic and development planning.

The gross domestic product (GDP) will continue to grow in the second half of 2022.

The gross domestic product grew by 32.4 percent at current prices in the first half of 2022 to RO 20.26 billion, compared to RO15.30 billion during the first half of 2021.

At constant prices, the GDP grew by 3.9 percent in the first half of 2022 to reach RO17.59 billion, compared to RO16.93 billion during the first half of 2021.

There has been an increase in the contribution of the oil and gas sector by 9.2 percent, constituting 34.1 percent of the GDP in the first half of 2022, compared to 32.5 percent during the same period in 2021.

The contribution of the non-oil sector improved by 2.1 percent during the first half of 2022.

The sectors that recorded remarkable growth rates were transport and storage (29.4 percent), accommodation, and food services (29.2 percent), mining (15.4 percent), and manufacturing (11.5 percent). primarily due to the stimulus packages during the past two years.

The inflation rate in the Sultanate of Oman remained at acceptable limits of about 3.1 percent during the period (January-August), which is much lower than the rate reached by some global economies and even advanced economies.

Moreover, the rate did not, in general, represent a large gap from the expectations of the tenth five-year development plan that seeks to maintain the average inflation rate of 2.8 percent throughout the years of the plan.

There was a decline in the monthly inflation rates since the beginning of 2022, as they declined from 4.4 percent in January to about 2.4 in August 2022, despite the prospects of uncertainty and economic turmoil in the world.

He said the Ministry of Economy continuously monitors various global economic changes and their impacts on the national economy.