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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Nominal GDP drops to RO 4.6 bn in first quarter

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Even as the first four months of the current year registered a modest RO 134.2 million fiscal surplus, the Sultanate’s nominal GDP saw a drop of 3.9 per cent compared to the same three-month period of last year.


GDP at current prices fell 3.9 per cent, down from RO 7 billion in the first quarter of 2019 to RO 6.75 billion in 2020.


The decline, according to the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI), is mainly due to decrease in the total value of non-oil activities from RO 4.9 billion in the first quarter of 2019 to RO 4.6 billion during the same period this year.


“The nominal contraction in the economy was driven by a 6.2 per cent decline in the non-hydrocarbon sector, in addition to drop in non-petroleum industrial activities and services sector that decreased by 11.5 per cent and 5.2 per cent,” said a report by the Central Bank of Oman using NCSI figures.


Financial data of government monthly accounts until the end of April 2020 showed that government total revenues stood at RO 3.82 billion, less by RO 47 million from the figures of the corresponding period in 2019.


Reports from the Ministry of Economy indicate that “the stability of government revenues during the first four months this year was due to crude sale prices, which averaged $63.36 by the end of April 2020”.


At the same time, due to cuts in spending contributed to a surplus of RO 134.2 million in the period from January to last April, from a deficit of RO 133.2 million a year ago.


The Ministry of Economy had instructed government agencies to implement many cuts to their operating and development budgets following drop in oil prices due to the coronavirus outbreak.


Figures show that spending on defence and security from January to April has narrowed down by more than 17 per cent year on year to RO 838.8 million, and development spending of civil ministries during the same period about 48 per cent to RO 171.2 million.


 


SAMUEL KUTTY


@samkuttyvp


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