VOL. XLI

No. 34

24-August-1998

OMAN

Omani Growth Falls As Budget Deficit Increases

The latest report of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), as quoted by the Oman NewsAgency (ONA) on 14 August, shows that economic growth contracted from 11% in 1996 to2.9% in 1997, at current prices. The CBO attributed slow growth to the decline in oil andnatural gas revenues. In 1997 oil and gas revenues fell by 1.2%, a significant decrease incomparison to the previous year's growth of 21.9%. Total net oil revenue...