Abu Dhabi, (Business News Report)|| Oman’s foreign reserves increased by 31.5 percent last December, compared to the same month of the year 2020. The rise in foreign reserves came with the support of the rise in oil prices.
The Central Bank said that Oman’s foreign reserves rose to 7.586 billion riyals ($19.76 billion) in December 2021.
The foreign assets of the Central Bank amounted to 5.770 billion riyals ($15.03 billion) in December 2020.
Foreign assets are distributed between foreign currency deposits, the Sultanate’s reserve account with the International Monetary Fund, and securities investments.
On a monthly basis, Oman’s foreign reserves rose by 1.39 percent last December, from 7.482 billion riyals ($19.49 billion) in the previous month.
The increase in the foreign reserves of the Central Bank of Oman is due to the improvement in international oil prices, which exceeded $100 per barrel, despite the fact that the Sultanate is a small oil producer with a production volume of no more than one million barrels per day.
In a related context, Oman’s oil production and exports increased during the month of January, compared to the same month last year.
Data from the Omani Ministry of Finance stated that oil production rose to 31.869 million barrels.
The average daily production amounted to 1.028 million barrels, compared to 29.713 million barrels in January 2021.
According to data from the Omani Ministry of Finance, production last January was 25.102 million barrels of crude oil, and the rest of oil condensate.
From these data, it appears that Oman’s oil production has increased by 2.156 million barrels on an annual basis.
Oman’s oil exports also increased, last January, by 10.8% to reach 27.978 million barrels, compared to 25.254 million barrels in January 2021, according to the ministry.
Meanwhile, the Sultanate aims to raise the average daily production of oil, during the current year, to 1.055 million barrels, compared to a daily average of 971,000 barrels during the past year.
The average price of oil in January 2021 was $43.8 per barrel, while the average recorded $80.3 last January.
