The effective exchange rate index of the Omani rial has surged by 3.5%, recording 105.3 points as of the end of April 2019 compared to 101.7 points in the same period of 2018, indicating the currency's enhanced purchasing power, where the local liquidity increased by RO 839 million, according to a primary data released by the National Centre For Statistic and Information.

The data show that the total currency issued till the end of April 2019 stood at RO 1,652.700 billion, against RO 1,639.500 billion issued in 2018, marking an increase of 0.8%.  The narrow money supply (M1), which consists of the total cash outside the banking system, the current accounts and the in-demand deposits in local currency, has declined by 4.5%, reaching RO 5,034.500 billion at the end of April 2019, compared to RO 5,272.500 billion at the end of April 2018. Broad Money Supply (M2) has also increased 5.2% to reach RO 17,075.400 billion at the end of April 2019, compared to RO 16,236.100 billion in the same period of the year 2018. The primary data of NCSI revealed that the total foreign assets of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) fell by 3.4%, reaching RO 6,363.700 billion by the end of April 2019, compared to the same period of 2018, when it was at RO 6,587.200 billion.  As for the private sector deposits in commercial banks and Islamic windows, the data show that it has raised by 3.9% at the end of April of the year 2019, recording RO 14,634.300 billion against OMR14,079.400 billion in 2018.

It also revealed that the total loans and financing at the commercial banks and Islamic windows has increased by 6%, reaching RO 25,578.800 billion at the end of April 2019, compared to RO 24,129.500 at the same period of 2018, while the average interest rate on total credit rose by 5.3%, recording 5.4% at the end of April 2019, compared to 5.1% during the same period of 2018.