Oman's economy grows 2% in Q3 as bank credit expands

19/01/2026 08:16 AST

Oman's economy expanded 2 percent in the third quarter of 2025, supported by steady growth in non-oil activities, while bank lending continued to rise faster than deposits, underscoring improving domestic demand.

Gross domestic product at constant prices reached about 9.91 billion Omani rials ($26 billion) in the three months through September, up from 9.71 billion rials a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information.

The expansion was driven mainly by non-oil sectors, where value added increased 2 percent to more than 7.3 billion rials, Oman News Agency reported.

This comes after Fitch Ratings recently upgraded the Sultanate's sovereign credit rating to investment grade at BBB-, projecting GDP growth of around 4 percent in 2025, driven largely by robust expansion in the non-oil sector.

Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings expects steady real GDP growth of about 2 percent a year through 2028, supported by ongoing economic diversification and momentum in the services sector.

"By economic activity, construction activities grew 1.3 percent to around 1.035 billion rials, while wholesale and retail trade increased 1.3 percent to 830.5 million rials. Public administration and defense rose 1.5 percent, reaching 932.5 million rials in Q3 2025," the ONA report stated.

Oil sector activities increased 1.9 percent to nearly 3.07 billion rials, compared with just over 3.01 billion rials in the same period of 2024. Crude oil production rose 2 percent to more than 2.55 billion rials, while natural gas activities grew 1.6 percent to 512.8 million rials, up from 504.7 million rials a year earlier.

Meanwhile, total credit extended by conventional commercial banks in the Sultanate rose 8.5 percent by the end of November, with lending to the private sector increasing 5.8 percent to 21.9 billion rials.

"In terms of investment, total holdings of conventional commercial banks in securities grew 7.4 percent, reaching approximately 6.4 billion rials by the end of November 2025," ONA stated in another report.

Within this category, investments in government development bonds rose 9.5 percent year on year to 2.2 billion rials, while investments in foreign securities declined 4.4 percent to 2.3 billion rials.

On the liabilities side, total deposits with conventional commercial banks increased 6.3 percent to 26.4 billion rials by the end of November.

Among total deposits, government deposits rose 7.6 percent to about 5.8 billion rials, while deposits from public sector institutions fell 25.6 percent to roughly 1.9 billion rials.

Private sector deposits climbed 9.5 percent to 17.8 billion rials in November, accounting for 67.2 percent of total deposits with conventional commercial banks.

Arab News