Muscat: Despite this liquidity boost, total issued cash declined by 4.5%, settling at RO 1.54 billion, down from RO 1.62 billion in September 2023. Narrow money supply (M1), encompassing cash outside the banking system and local currency demand deposits, recorded an impressive growth of 18.2%, amounting to RO 6.7 billion by September 2024, compared to RO 5.67 billion in the previous year.

The Central Bank of Oman’s foreign assets rose sharply by 20.7%, reaching RO 7.49 billion by the end of September 2024, a significant jump from RO 6.20 billion recorded a year earlier.

Private sector deposits in commercial banks and Islamic banking windows also showed robust growth, totaling RO 20.73 billion, up by 12.7% compared to RO 18.39 billion in September 2023. Similarly, total loans and financing grew by 5%, reaching RO 31.97 billion, compared to RO 30.44 billion in the same period last year.

On the downside, the average interest rate on loans edged up by 2.8%, standing at 5.604%, while the effective exchange rate index of the Omani riyal dropped by 2.7%, settling at 114.2 points by September 2024.