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 Tue 20th Jul 2010 | | Oman to spend $3.5bn to enhance oil output by 18% | Oman plans to spend $3.5 billion in the next five years to boost oil output by 18%, extending previous increases, and to generate cash for infrastructure projects.
Oman is producing around 850,000 barrels per day and expects to raise output to an average of 870,000 bpd this year. It has managed to turn around declining output, boosting production in both 2008 and 2009. Following a price crash after the July 2008 record of nearly $150 a barrel, government oil revenues fell in 2009 to 4.4905 billion Omani Rials ($11.67 billion), about 12% less than 2008, a central bank report said earlier this year. The new investment will be used to drill more wells, including in the Al Ghubar South field, which contains reserves of a billion barrels, the official said, adding Oman hoped it would be able to announce an increase in the size of its reserves.
The central bank pegged oil and condensate reserves at 4.826 billion barrels at the end of 2009, 3 percent less than in 2008. Oman is a small independent oil producer close to OPEC's largest crude exporters, but its oil has a big influence on international markets, as it is used in benchmark pricing for around 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude exported from the Middle East to Asia. The sultanate is spending heavily on power stations, airports, ports, road networks and other infrastructure projects. | | | | Mon 19th Jul 2010 | | Dubai consumer prices edge higher | Dubai’s inflation rate jumped to a record 0.64% in the first half of 2010, compared to the same period of 2009, the Dubai Statistics Centre said.
The emirate recorded a modest change in its annual June 2010 inflation at 0.51% against 0.48% in May 2010.
The Consumer Price Index, or CPI, of the emirate reached 115.36 points by the end of last month, compared to 114.63 in the first half of 2009.
Education, which has 4.09% weight on the emirate’s CPI, fuelled the inflation and recorded the highest increase of 12.20% on higher school fees, according to the data.
The heavy weight of the index — housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels — fell by 0.51%. It contributes 43.7% in the CPI.
Citing the reason for the decline, the centre said inflation rate of this heavy weight decreased because of the decline in the prices of materials for the maintenance and repair of dwelling by 6.94%, followed by the prices of solid fuels with rate 3.49%.
On the other hand, the prices of gas registered a high increase, reaching to 11.83%.
Communication costs fell by 10.55% because of the competition between both the telecom operators in the country.
Prices of wireless and wired services fell by 10.89% while wireless and wired equipment prices increased by 6.31%. | | | | Tue 13th Jul 2010 | | Oman's money supply in May 2010 down by 1.2% | Money supply in Oman fell 1.2 per cent month-on-month at the end of May 2010, the first decline this year after a 0.6 per cent rise in April 2010, data from the Gulf country's central bank showed on Monday.
Money supply measured as M2 stood at RO8.225 billion ($21.36 billion) at the end of May, compared to RO8.325 billion in April, the official figures showed.
M2 in May 2010 rose 6.6 per cent compared to the same period last year. M2, also an indicator of future inflation, had started to pick up speed this year, after cooling down from double-digit growth rates seen for most of first seven months of 2009.
The central bank's net foreign assets stood at RO4.996 billion at the end of May 2010, up 14.4 per cent from May 2009, the statistics showed. Oman's commercial banks extended credit worth RO10.054 billion in May 2010, up from RO9.524 billion a year earlier. | | | | Tue 13th Jul 2010 | | Dubai Chamber members' June exports hit Dhs18bn | Exports by members of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry reached Dh18 billion in June 2010, a 3% surge compared to the previous month.
Underscoring a steady upturn in foreign trade, there was a growth in the number of Dubai exporters as well as in the certificates of origin issued by the Dubai Chamber. The number of exporters rose to 4,863 and certificates of origin increased to 57,306 in June 2010. Dubai’s total exports in May 2010 were valued at Dh17.5 billion, a Dubai Chamber study said.
However, on an year-on-year basis, the growth was 6%. In June 2009, the value of exports was Dh16.94 billion.
Hamad Buamim, Director General of the Dubai Chamber, said the upturn in exports underlined the strong resurgence of Dubai’s export and re-export trade, which is one of the real driving forces behind its economic recovery. “This is the second month in the first-half of 2010 when the value of exports and re-exports of Dubai Chamber members has exceeded the Dh18 billion mark, which is a good sign and an indicator of better export figures in the coming months.”
The GCC continued to be a major export market for Dubai Chamber members. Led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the GCC regained its growth momentum as export markets of Dubai, posting an aggregate month-on-month increase of 5% to Dh8.5 billion.
Exports to Saudi Arabia grew by 5% to Dh4.4 billion, while exports to Qatar surged 12% to Dh1.2 billion. Exports to Oman remained much lower at Dh566 million, representing a 17% growth. Exports to Kuwait remained relatively stable at Dh883 million, while exports to Bahrain continued to decline to Dh258 million, or by 8% from the previous month’s value. Bahrain, ranked 12th in Dubai exports, is the only GCC country not in the top 10 export destinations.
Trade between companies in the free zones and in the customs territory of the UAE also recovered from a 9% decline in the previous month, while posting a 4% month-on-month growth to a total value of Dh1.2 billion.
| | | | Mon 12th Jul 2010 | | Cement sales in Saudi Arabia up by 12.3% | A data released by Yakama Cement showed that the sales by twelve cement firms in Saudi Arabia rose 12.3% during the second quarter of 2010. The figures also indicated that the listed manufacturers are not doing as well as non-listed rivals.
Cement sales, including exports, stood at 11.42 million tonnes during the q2 2010 against 10.17 million tonnes a year earlier, Yamama said in a report.
For the eight listed cement firms, the sales stood at 8.96 million tonnes, an increase of 3.7% over the same period in 2009. | | | | Mon 12th Jul 2010 | | Kuwait M2 declines 0.3% m/m during May 2010 | Credit growth in the second quarter picked up relative to the flat start of the year. Nonetheless, the pace of growth on a year on year (y/y) basis continues to slow down in the absence of any sustained stimulus. It is becoming apparent that a broad and sustained recovery is increasingly dependent on public spending and the expeditious launch of planned projects under the recently announced 5-year development plan
Owing to sluggish credit growth, excess liquidity is piling up at banks, despite a drop in deposits and a reduction in holdings of foreign assets as a counterbalance. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) stepped up efforts during May to absorb excess liquidity at banks by accepting additional time deposits. As a result, money supply (M2) slid 0.3% month on month (m/m), down KD 77 million, while growth fell to 0.3% y/y, and appears to be heading into negative territory.
Outstanding credit to residents rose 0.2% m/m (+KD 59 million) in May, matching the pace seen in April. However, y/y growth continues to slide, falling to 4.4% at the end of May, while the annualized average three months rate remains almost flat.
During May, the bulk of the increase was in loans to the real estate sector, rising KD 69 million, followed by loans to the industrial sector, up KD 28 million. Meanwhile, personal facilities (excluding loans for the purchase of securities) rose a modest KD 9 million, while loans for the purchase of securities fell KD 15 million. Remaining sectors were either flat or down for the month. Note: growth over the past year in other unclassified sectors were reclassified as loans to the construction sector, which adds around KD 100 million to total outstanding loans to the sector.
Private resident deposits fell 0.3% m/m, down KD 77 million in May, following a KD 104 million drop in foreign currency deposits. Banks have shed almost a third of their foreign currency deposits over the past year, a total drop of KD 1.1 billion. Meanwhile, local currency deposits were up 0.1% m/m or KD 27 million, but have seen a considerable shift towards shorter term deposits. The drop in private deposits was offset by a KD 213 million increase in deposits of the government.
As a result of the comfortable funding levels, interest rates continue to hover around their lows. Average rates offered on 1-month KD private deposits were unchanged in May. Rates averaged 1.08%, 1.27%, 1.50%, and 1.78%, for the 1, 3, 6, and 12-month maturities, respectively.
With limited credit growth, higher government deposits and KD 197 million in capital increases at Burgan and Ahli banks lifted liquid assets (including net interbank deposits) KD 308 million in May. The CBK stepped in to mop up the excess liquidity, accepting KD 306 million in new time deposits from banks. Meanwhile, total bank assets rose KD 211 million m/m.
The NBK report concluded: At the start of June, the dinar hit almost a two year high against the Euro but has since leveled off as the Euro’s slump worldwide waned. Meanwhile, lower volatility is observed in the dinar-dollar rate, possibly reflecting the large weight of the dollar in the currency basket against which the dinar is pegged, although the dinar was allowed to slide slightly lower since the start of the year. | | | | Fri 9th Jul 2010 | | Oman's economic performance affected by global crises and oil decline | According to a report published by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), the global recession and the sharp fall in crude prices in the international market led to a 23.5% drop in Oman’s GDP in 2009 following five consecutive years of growth.
The country recorded a fiscal deficit of RO680 million during the year, after several years of budget surpluses. The contraction of nominal GDP directly originating from petroleum activities was even higher, 38%, despite a 7.1% increase in oil production. The decline in non-oil GDP was 7.4%.
As a result, the share of the hydrocarbons sector in the overall nominal GDP declined from 50.5% in 2008 to 40.9% in 2009, while the share of non-petroleum GDP increased from 50.6% to 61.3% during the same period, the report said.
However, a noticeable rise in GDP was seen in the electricity and water sector (11.3%), construction (5.6% real estate services (14.2%), public administration and defence (4%) and agriculture and fishing (4.6%).
Generation of employment in 2009 lost its momentum witnessed during the past years due to the slowdown of the sultanate’s economy, the report said. While employment of Omanis in the public sector increased by 5.5%, expatriates’ jobs declined marginally by 0.8%. As a result, the share of Omanis employed in the public sector improved further to 85.5%, indicating steady progress of Omanisation in the country.
According to the latest data available from the Public Authority for Social Insurance (PASI), employment of Omanis in the private sector rose by 7.6% to 158,315 in 2009 compared to an increase of 11.7% in the previous year, the report added.
Inflationary pressures, it said, abated significantly in 2009 mainly due to the global recession and consequent fall in commodity prices, including that of oil and natural gas in the international markets. The average Consumer Price Index (CPI) decelerated to 3.4% in 2009 against a peak of 12.4% in 2008.
The oil and gas sector continued to play a dominant role in the economic affairs of the country. The turnaround in crude oil production, effective from 2008, increased further by 7.1% to 297 million barrels in 2009. There was a 2.6% increase in natural gas production too. Natural gas output at the end of 2009 stood at 1,098 billion cubic feet, from 1,070 billion cubic feet in 2008. Crude oil exports rose by 12.1% cent to 243 million barrels from 217 million barrels.
The average price realization for Omani crude oil showed a decline of 43.9% to $56.7 per barrel from a peak of $101.1 in 2008. Thus, the share of oil and gas in terms of major parameters of the economy witnessed a decline in 2009. But, despite decline in their shares, oil and gas together accounted for 40.9% of GDP, 77.4% of net revenues, 79% of exports of Omani origin, and 65.3% of total merchandise exports in 2009.
The report also said that the overall fiscal balance was under pressure in 2009 mainly due to the fall in oil revenues. After continuous growth in total revenues during 2005-08, the country recorded a decline of 11.7% to RO6,748.4 million in 2009. The decline in the net oil revenues was significant (RO603 million or 11.8%), followed by gas revenues (RO178 million or 19.6%). Other current revenues declined by RO61 million or 3.9% in 2009. | | | | Next |
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