MUSCAT: Oman’s economy is expected to improve in 2021, while the remaining part of 2020 is likely to stay subdued due to the impact of coronavirus outbreak in the country and the oil price collapse, according to the Central Bank of Oman (CBO).
“The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic coupled with subsequent standstill of world economic activities and drastically re- duced global demand is expected to drive world economy into a recession during 2020,” CBO said in its ‘Review of the Omani Economy: Jan – Sept 2019’, issue that is available with The Arabian Stories.
According to the CBO report, the oil prices are not likely to witness any sizable recovery during the remaining of 2020. “Amidst collapsing global oil demand and non-extension of Opec+ agreement, oil prices plunged drastically in the recent past, touching historical low.
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“The oil prices are not likely to witness any sizable recovery during the remaining of 2020. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that Brent crude oil prices will average $43/b in 2020, down from an average of $64/b in 2019. For 2020, EIA expects prices will average $37/b during the second quar- ter and then rise to $42/b during the second half of the year,” CBO pointed out.
“The lower oil prices would also adversely affect the non-hydrocarbon sector due to strong inter-linkages. Considering the above factors, the outlook of the Omani economy appears to be subdued in 2020 but expected to improve in 2021,” the apex bank added
