Oman’s GDP Grows by 12.7% in 2021

Muscat: The state’s total public revenues increased by 22.6 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2021 and amounted to about 7.4 billion Omani riyals, compared to about 6 billion Omani riyals at the end of the same quarter of the year 2020, while total public spending decreased by 0.7 percent, recording 8.4 billion Omani riyals.

The data issued by the National Center for Statistics and Information – contained in the report “Analysis of the Economic Situation in the Sultanate of Oman” for the third quarter of 2021 , indicated that the value of the deficit recorded in the state’s general budget at the end of the third quarter of the year 2021  amounted to one billion Omani riyals, representing 4.2% to GDP at current prices.

The data showed that the value of GDP at current prices increased by about 12.7 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2021 to reach 24.2 billion Omani riyals, compared to 21.5 billion Omani riyals at the end of the same quarter of the year 2020.

This rise came as a result of an increase in the average oil price by about 29 percent, as the price rose from $47.2 per barrel at the end of the third quarter of 2020 AD to $60.9 per barrel at the end of the third quarter of 2021.

The added value of oil activities increased by 1.5 billion Omani riyals, recording about 7.4 billion Omani riyals, compared to about 5.9 billion Omani riyals at the end of the same quarter of the year 2020. This is due to the increase in the added value of crude oil by 33.2 percent, to reach about 6.3 billion Omani riyals, compared to about 4.7 billion Omani riyals at the end of the same quarter of the year 2020. While the added value of natural gas decreased by 1.9 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020.

The total value added of non-oil activities at the end of the third quarter of 2021 increased by 7.8 percent compared to the same period of the year 2020, to reach 17.7 billion Omani riyals. The added value of industrial activities also increased by 9.1 percent as a result of an increase in the added value of manufacturing industries by 25.8 percent, mining and quarrying by 6.2 percent, and an increase in electricity, water and sanitation activities by 6 percent. The added value of service activities also increased by 7.5 percent, and the added value of agriculture and fish by 4.8 percent.

In foreign trade indicators, the report indicates an increase in the value of the trade balance surplus at the end of the third quarter of the year 2021 AD, by 410.7 million Omani riyals, compared to the same period of the year 2020 AD, reaching about 3.2 billion Omani riyals; The increase in the trade balance surplus is due to the increase in the value of merchandise exports by 41.4 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2021, recording about 12.2 billion Omani riyals, compared to about 8.6 billion Omani riyals in the same period of the previous year. The value of merchandise imports also increased by 54.3 percent, recording about 9 percent. Billions of Omani riyals, compared to about 5.8 billion riyals in the same period of the year 2020.

The total value of re-exports at the end of the third quarter of 2021 amounted to about one billion Omani riyals, an increase of about 11.6 percent over the same period of the year 2020. The exports of plastics, rubber and their products witnessed a remarkable increase of 382 percent, and it was the most increased non-oil exports at the end of the third quarter of the year 2021 AD compared to the same period of the year 2020. The increase in the value of non-oil exports was about 94 percent compared to the end of the same quarter of the year 2020, and the value of oil exports increased by 31.6 percent compared to the same period of the year 2020.

Also, imports of mineral products increased by the end of the third quarter of the year 2021 AD by about 263 percent compared to the same period of the year 2020. The report states that 63.2 percent of the total value of merchandise imports into the Sultanate of Oman is imported through customs seaports.

In the monetary situation indicators, the total domestic liquidity (M2) at the end of the third quarter of 2021 increased by 3.5 percent compared to the end of the third quarter of 2020, registering about 20 billion Omani riyals, and the money supply (M1) increased by about 0.5 percent at the end of the third quarter of in 2021 compared to the end of the same quarter of the year 2020, registering 5.74 billion Omani riyals.

The total value of private sector deposits increased by 5.1 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2021, recording about 17.2 billion Omani riyals, compared to 16.4 billion Omani riyals at the end of the same quarter of the previous year. The purchasing power of the Omani riyal also increased by the end of the third quarter of 2021 AD by about / one / percent, as the real exchange rate index scored about 105 points, compared to about 104 at the end of the same quarter of the year 2020.

The total value of loans and financing granted through commercial banks and Islamic windows increased by 4.9 percent at the end of the third quarter of the year 2021 AD to reach about 27.7 billion Omani riyals, compared to about 26.4 billion Omani riyals at the end of the same quarter of the year 2020. The total value of personal loans also increased by 2.1 percent To record 8.7 billion Omani riyals, while the average interest rate on total loans reached 5.5 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2021, down by 0.1 percent compared to the same period in 2020.

The total value of foreign assets at the Central Bank of Oman increased by 8.5 percent compared to the end of the same quarter of the year 2020.