Oman’s trade surplus reaches $2.8bn in January-May

By bne IntelliNews September 21, 2015

Oman’s overall foreign trade balance reported an OMR1.09bn ($2.84bn) surplus in the first five months of the year as sinking exports were mitigated by a mild decline in imports, data from the statistics office showed.

Exports (including re-exports) shrank 33% y/y to OMR5.62bn while imports fell 2% y/y to OMR4.53bn at end-May.

Oil and gas continue to form the bulk of Oman’s exports despite dropping 39% y/y to OMR3.4bn in January-May, accounting for 60.5% of the total.

Crude oil exports fell 41% y/y to OMR2.86bn in January-May while refined oil sales shrank 48% y/y to OMR68mn and those of liquefied natural gas dropped 24% to OMR467mn.

Non-oil exports dropped 13% y/y to OMR1.34bn following a period of positive growth amid sluggish foreign demand. Minerals, chemicals, plastic and rubber and base metals were among the main top export products.

Omani re-exports contracted 31% y/y to OMR880mn in January-May.

Oman imported OMR191mn worth of live animals (down 7.8% y/y), OMR550mn of minerals (down 10%) and OMR452mn worth of chemicals (up 2.7% y/y). Imports of electrical and mechanical appliances rose 8% y/y to OMR849mn, reflecting strong private consumption for durable goods.

The UAE, Japan, India and China were Oman’s top import sources in January-May.

Related Articles

Iraq holds talks with Excelerate Energy on buying first LNG from US

Iraq is in the final stages of negotiating its first-ever purchase of LNG supplies as power outages hamper the Middle East country, Bloomberg reported on June 26. Dallas-headquartered Excelerate ... more

Reformist Kamil al-Tayeb Idris appointed as Sudan’s new Prime Minister

Sudan’s Sovereign Council head, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, issued a constitutional decree on May 19 appointing Kamil al-Tayeb Idris as the new prime minister, Al Sharq Al Awsat reported. He also ... more

Egypt examines LNG supply offers from Saudi Aramco, UAE’s Adnoc, Algeria’s Sonatrach, and QatarEnergy

Egypt's state-owned gas company EGAS has received several offers to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments urgently needed for summer, Al Sharq reported on May 18, citing an unnamed government ... more

Dismiss