Muscat: Oman's total revenues for the first quarter of 2019 increased by 32 per cent to RO 2.7 billion, from RO2.1 billion compared to the same period last year.
The total public spending increased by 4.3 per cent to RO 2.6 billion, according to an analysis of the economic situation presented by the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
The data indicates that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current prices decreased by 1.6 per cent from RO 7.2 billion in the first quarter of 2018 to RO 7.1 billion in the first quarter of 2019, where this decrease is due to the decrease in the average oil price from $62.9 per barrel in the first quarter of 2018 to $61, a barrel in the first quarter of 2019.
The value-added of oil activities was RO2.41 billion in the first quarter of 2019 compared to RO2.43 in the same quarter of the previous year.
The decrease in the value-added of crude oil by 2.5 per cent led to a decline in the oil activities, which amounted to RO 2.02 billion, while the value-added of natural gas increased by 10.8 per cent to reach RO394.7 billion in the first quarter of 2019, compared to RO356.4 billion for the same period of 2018.
This decrease is due to the decrease in the added value of industrial activities by 4.8 per cent, while the value-added of agricultural and fish activities increased by 18.6 per cent, and the added value of service activities increased by 0.4 per cent.
The report indicates that the surplus in the trade balance in the first quarter of 2019 rose by RO259 compared to the same quarter of the previous year to reach about 1.5 billion, where the surplus in the trade balance is due to the increase in the value of merchandise exports by 1.4 per cent to RO3.7 billion.
The value of merchandise imports decreased by 8.5 per cent to register about RO 2.2 billion, compared to about RO 2.5 billion in the first quarter of the previous year.
In the monetary situation indicators, the total domestic liquidity (M2) increased in the first quarter of 2019 by four per cent to RO 17.1 billion, compared to about RO 16.4 billion in the same quarter of the previous year, while the money supply (M1) decreased by 3.3 per cent to RO 5.1 billion riyals.
Total private sector deposits increased by about 2.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, amount to RO 14.6 billion, compared to RO14.2 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.
The total value of loans and financing granted through commercial banks and Islamic windows increased by about 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, to reach about RO 25.5 billion, compared to about RO 24.1 billion in the same quarter of the previous year, and the total value of personal loans also increased by 2.4 per cent to register RO 8.4 billion, while the average interest rate on total loans was 5.3 per cent in the quarter.
The total value of foreign assets in the Central Bank of Oman decreased by 8.7 per cent to about RO6.4 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2019, compared to about RO7 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
The purchasing power of the Omani Rial increased by the end of the first quarter of 2019 by 4.3 per cent, as the real exchange rate index scored about 104.9 points, compared to 100.6 points in the same quarter of the previous year.
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