As of December 31, 2023, the Central Bank of Oman’s total foreign assets climbed by 0.1% to 6.73 million Omani rials (USD 17.49 million) from the same period the year before.
The increase in foreign asset values boosts liquidity to satisfy demands for the balance of payments and offers some fiscal protection against unfavourable economic developments.
The Oman News Agency said that the National Centre for Statistics and Information has issued new numbers showing that during the same period, the narrow money supply, or M1, increased by 6.6% to reach 5.98 million rials.
M1 includes demand deposits in local currency, current accounts, and all cash held outside the banking system.
The wide money supply, or M2, on the other hand, increased by 13.1% over the same period in 2022 to reach 23 million rials at the end of 2023.
By the end of 2023, private sector deposits in commercial banks and Islamic windows had risen to 19.2 million rials, a 10.6% increase from the same period the year before.
Additionally, during the same period, the total amount of loans and funding in commercial banks and Islamic windows increased by 4.3% to reach 30.47 million rials.
An Increase In Hotel Earnings
The NSCI released statistics showing that at the end of January 2024, Oman’s three-to-five-star hotels had revenues of 24.75 million rials, 17.1% more than during the same period in 2023. This increase is consistent with the overall increase in hotel guests, which increased by 20.5% to 215,660 by the end of January 2024 when compared to the same period in 2023.
In addition, there was a 16.2% increase in the hotel occupancy rate over the same time frame.
With 75,219, Omanis led the group of visitors staying in hotels, according to the NCSI survey.
Conversely, the number of European visitors during that time was 73,325, which represents an increase of 17.9% over the same period last year.
Conversely, visitors from the nations that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council, climbed by 10.5% to 11,961, while Americans accounted for 7,231.