Muscat: This growth was fueled by an 18.2 percent increase in narrow money and a 12.3 percent rise in quasi-money. The latter includes savings and time deposits in Omani riyals, certificates of deposit issued by banks, margin accounts, and all foreign currency deposits within the banking sector.
Interestingly, cash held by the public declined by 6.7 percent during the same period, while demand deposits recorded a robust 25.1 percent growth.
The financial landscape also saw shifts in interest rates. The weighted average interest rate on deposits in Omani riyals climbed from 2.453 percent in September 2023 to 2.679 percent in September 2024. Meanwhile, the weighted average interest rate on loans in Omani riyals increased from 5.451 percent to 5.604 percent.
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The average overnight interbank lending rate dropped to 4.896 percent in September 2024, down from 5.388 percent a year earlier. This was attributed to the decline in the weighted average repo rate, which fell from 6.000 percent to 5.790 percent, aligning with the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policies.
