MUSCAT: Total loans and financing extended by commercial banks and Islamic windows in the Sultanate of Oman rose 12.2 per cent year on year to RO 38.2584 billion at the end of July 2026, preliminary data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed.
Private sector deposits increased 12.9 per cent to RO 24.7113 billion, compared with RO 21.8901 billion a year earlier. Total loans and financing stood at RO 34.1008 billion at the end of July 2025.
The figures showed growth in money supply and domestic liquidity alongside a decline in average lending rates.
Narrow money supply rose 28 per cent to RO 9.2094 billion from RO 7.1931 billion a year earlier. Domestic liquidity increased 14.9 per cent to RO 29.2521 billion, compared with RO 25.4506 billion.
Currency issued grew 4.9 per cent to RO 1.585 billion at the end of July, up from RO 1.5114 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
Foreign assets, however, declined 1.7 per cent to RO 7.2835 billion from RO 7.4112 billion a year earlier.
The average interest rate on total loans fell to 5.311 per cent from 5.510 per cent, a decline of 0.199 percentage points, equivalent to about 20 basis points. This represented a relative decrease of 3.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Omani rial’s effective exchange rate index increased 0.4 per cent to 116.8 points at the end of July 2026, compared with 116.3 points a year earlier. — ONA
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