Arab News
Arab News, Mon, Feb 03, 2025 | Shaaban 4, 1446
Oman trade surplus
hits 2% $18.5bn in November
Oman:
Oman’s trade surplus rose 2 percent year on year by the end of November,
reaching 7.14 billion Omani rials ($18.5 billion), up from 6.99 billion rials in
the same period of 2023.
The increase, driven largely by a surge in oil and gas exports, saw total
merchandise exports grow 7.7 percent year on year to 22.23 billion rials, while
imports rose 10.6 percent to 15.09 billion rials, according to preliminary data
from the National Center for Statistics and Information.
Oil and gas exports surged 19.7 percent to 14.99 billion rials, compared to
12.53 billion rials in the same period of 2023.
Crude oil exports rose 2.5 percent to 9.13 billion rials, while refined oil
exports saw a sharp increase of 174.9 percent to 3.57 billion rials. Liquefied
natural gas exports, however, declined slightly by 1.1 percent to 2.30 billion
rials.
The UAE was Oman’s top trade partner in non-oil exports, with trade reaching 935
million rials, an 8.1 percent increase from November 2023.
The UAE also remained the leading destination for re-exports from Oman at 526
million rials and was the top exporter to Oman, supplying 3.60 billion rials
worth of goods.
Saudi Arabia ranked second in non-oil exports from Oman, totaling 764 million
rials, followed by South Korea with 611 million rials.
Iran was the second-largest re-export destination at 335 million rials, followed
by Kuwait at 110 million rials.
Among exporters to Oman, China ranked second with 1.62 billion rials, followed
by Kuwait at 1.49 billion rials.
Oman’s trade surplus is part of a regional trend as the Gulf Cooperation Council
continues to play a significant role in global trade.
The latest data shows that the GCC achieved a total trade volume of $1.5
trillion, securing its position as the world’s sixth-largest trader and
accounting for 3.4 percent of global trade in 2023.
Oman’s non-oil merchandise exports declined by 16.6 percent to 5.64 billion
rials in November, down from 6.77 billion rials a year earlier. Mineral products
remained the largest category within non-oil exports at 1.62 billion rials,
despite a 35.2 percent drop.
Base metals and related products fell 1.1 percent to 1.20 billion rials, while
plastics and rubber products grew 10.1 percent to 896 million rials.
Exports of chemical industry products dropped 22 percent to 725 million rials,
and live animals and animal products declined 12.3 percent to 320 million rials.
Re-exports from Oman grew 18.3 percent to 1.59 billion rials. Transport
equipment re-exports rose 2.1 percent to 385 million rials, while electrical
machinery and equipment fell 4.1 percent to 346 million rials.
Re-exported food, beverages, and liquids increased by 30.2 percent to 168
million Omani rials, and mineral product re-exports climbed 43.1 percent to 119
million Omani rials. However, re-exports of live animals and animal products
declined 13.3 percent to 89 million rials.
On the import side, mineral products accounted for the largest share, totaling
4.21 billion rials, up 9.5 percent.
Imports of electrical machinery and equipment grew 26 percent to 2.61 billion
rials, while base metals and related products declined 1.2 percent to 1.45
billion rials.
Chemical industry imports rose 2.7 percent to 1.40 billion rials, and transport
equipment imports increased by 13.1 percent to 1.35 billion rials. Other
imported products totaled 4.07 billion rials.
Oman’s crude oil exports totaled approximately 308.42 million barrels by the end
of December, with an average price per barrel of $81.2.
Oil exports accounted for 84.9 percent of the country’s total oil production,
which stood at 363.29 million barrels for the year.
However, total oil exports saw a slight decline of 0.6 percent compared to
December 2023, when Oman exported 310.33 million barrels.
This decrease aligned with a 5.1 percent drop in overall oil production, which
fell from 382.77 million barrels in the previous year.