Muscat: According to statistics issued by the Central Bank of Oman, the increase was driven mainly by a 7.3 per cent rise in narrow money and a 2.1 per cent growth in quasi-money. Quasi-money includes savings and time deposits in Omani rials, certificates of deposit issued by banks, margin accounts, as well as foreign currency deposits held within the banking sector.
During the same period, cash in circulation with the public declined marginally by 0.13 per cent, while demand deposits rose sharply by 8.7 per cent, indicating stronger transactional activity within the economy.
On the interest rate front, the weighted average interest rate on Omani rial deposits at conventional commercial banks eased to 2.559 per cent in October 2025, down from 2.709 per cent a year earlier. Similarly, the weighted average interest rate on Omani rial loans declined from 5.628 per cent to 5.444 per cent over the same period.
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The overnight interbank lending rate also softened, averaging 4.014 per cent in October 2025, compared to 4.681 per cent in October 2024. This decline was attributed to a reduction in the weighted average interest rate on repurchase operations, which fell to 4.734 per cent from 5.790 per cent a year earlier, in line with prevailing monetary policies of the US Federal Reserve.
