Muscat, The Sultanate of Oman’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in current prices grew by 30.4% by the end of the second quarter of 2022 to hit RO 20.4 billion compared to RO 15.6 billion during the corresponding period in 2021, according to the latest data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Statistics indicated that this rise is attributed to the surge in value-added hydrocarbon activities by 75.3% and non-oil activities by 13.4%.

Breaking down the figure, value-added oil activities went up by RO 3.4 billion to stand at RO 7.8 billion by the end of the second quarter of 2022 compared to RO 4.5 billion by the end of the corresponding period in 2021. This is attributed to the growth of value-added crude oil by 82% to reach RO 6.8 billion compared to RO 3.8 billion by the end of the same quarter in 2021. Moreover, value-added natural gas surged by 39.8%.

Value-added non-oil activities increased by 13.4% by the end of the second quarter of 2022 to stand at RO 13.3 billion. This is the result of growth in value-added industrial activities by 25%, agriculture, forestry and fishing by 9.2% and services by 8.8%.

Meanwhile, the rise in value-added industrial activities is attributed to the surge of converting industries by 67%, electricity and water coverage and sewage activities by 4.1% and mining and utilizing quarries by 28.4%.

The surplus in the trade balance by the end of the second quarter of 2022 rose by RO 3.1 billion to reach RO 4.7 billion. This is attributed to the increase in the value of merchandise exports by 61% to reach RO 12.3 billion compared to RO 7.7 billion during the corresponding period in 2021.

The value of merchandise imports went up by 26.8% to reach RO 7.6 billion compared to RO 6 billion by the end of the corresponding period in 2021. Meanwhile, the value of re-exporting declined by 18.3% to stand at RO 600 million.

The rise in merchandise exports is attributed to the increase in the value of petroleum exports by 80.1% and non-oil exports by 51.2%.

The total domestic liquidity by the end of the second quarter of 2022 rose by 3.3% to stand at RO 20.8 billion.

The purchasing power of the Omani Rial increased by 9.1% by the end of the second quarter of 2022.

The effective exchange rate index of the Omani Rial registered 113.5 points compared to 104 points during the corresponding period in 2021.

Source: Oman News Agency