The Oman Central Bank (OCB) has announced that the total value of government treasury bills (T-bills) allocated this week amounted to OMR22.03 million ($57.24 million)
According to a statement from OCB, the T-bills have a maturity period of 91 days. The average acceptable price for the bills was OMR98.732, with the lowest acceptable price reaching OMR98.725 per OMR100. The average discount rate was 5.08651 percent, and the average return was 5.15185 percent.
The statement also mentioned that the interest rate on repurchase operations (repo) with the OCB for these T-bills is 6.00 percent. The discount rate with the OCB on treasury bill facilities is 6.50 percent.
Treasury bills are a short-term financial instrument issued by the Ministry of Finance to provide investment opportunities for licensed commercial banks. The Oman Central Bank acts as the manager for the issuance of these T-bills.
Read more: Oman’s trade surplus reaches $2.27 billion by January end
Oman’s public debt declines slightly
Oman’s public debt as of the end of March 2024 stood at OMR15.1 billion ($39.23 billion). This represents a slight decrease from the end of 2023, when the public debt was OMR15.3 billion ($39.75 billion).
The Ministry of Finance disbursed over OMR206 million in dues to the private sector through the financial system in the first quarter of 2024.
On the inflation front
The inflation rate in Oman rose by 0.4 percent in April 2024 compared to April 2023, according to the latest consumer price index (CPI) data from the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI). Moreover, the CPI data reveals notable changes in various sectors, impacting the cost of living for residents across the Sultanate.
IMF outlook for Oman’s economy
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Oman’s economic growth to remain moderate at 0.9 percent in 2024 due to oil output cuts during the first half of the year. However, the IMF forecasts the growth rate to accelerate to 4.1 percent in 2025 if hydrocarbon activity rebounds following the expected relaxation of OPEC+ quotas.
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