Actual exchange rate of Omani Rial increases by 2.7%

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Muscat: The actual exchange rate index of the Omani Rial stabilised at 116.8 points at the end of March 2024, constituting a rise by 2.7 per cent, according to the statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Initial data issued by the NCSI showed that broad money supply (M2) by the end of March 2024 stood at OMR24,242.1 million, constituting an increase of 15.2 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

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 9.2 per cent to OMR6,583.8 million, compared to OMR6,027.1 million at the end of March 2023.

Total foreign assets at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) rose by 3.4 per cent to OMR6,699.6 million by the end of March 2024, compared to the corresponding period in 2023, when it stood at OMR6,476.5 million.

Meanwhile, private sector deposits in commercial banks and Islamic windows at the end of March 2024 stood at OMR20,152.5 million, up by 13.7 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2023 (when it was worth OMR17,731.8 million).

Total loans and financing in commercial banks and Islamic windows grew by 2.9 per cent by the end of March 2024 to OMR30,762.5 million, compared to OMR29,899.1 million.

The average interest rate on total loans increased 3.4 per cent at the end of March 2024 by 5.563 per cent.