Pandemic pushes down outward remittances from Oman to lowest since 2013

Pandemic pushes down outward remittances from Oman to lowest since 2013

Muscat: Remittances sent by workers in Oman to their home countries in 2020 fell to the lowest amount recorded since 2013, statistics released by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) show. Workers remitted OMR 3.373bn to their friends and families in 2020, reveals the 2020 Annual Report released by CBO. The last time the figures were lower than this amount was in 2012, when a total amount of OMR3.109bn was sent home. Remittance figures were on a rise after 2012, climbing to OMR3.501bn in 2013, OMR3.961bn in 2014, and OMR4.226bn in 2015, before dipping to OMR3.965bn in 2016 and OMR3.774bn in 2017. Remittances rose slightly in 2018 to reach OMR3.829bn, before falling to OMR3.512bn in 2019. var width=document.documentElement.clientWidth;if(width>=320&&width<728){}; googletag.cmd.push(function(){try{var d=document.documentElement.clientWidth;var a;var c="/21857811890/en.zcom/";var b;if(d>=320&&d<728){a=[300,250];b=["mobile_mr_story"]}else{a=[300,250];b=["MR_Story"]}var h="MR_Story";var g=googletag.defineSlot("/21857811890/en.zcom/",a,"div-gpt-ad-MR_Story").setTargeting("type",b).addService(googletag.pubads());gptAdSlots.push(g);if(h!="MR_Story"){googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(true,true)}googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest();googletag.enableServices();if((h=="PSB_Left")||(h=="mobile_psb_left")||(h=="PSB_Top")||(h=="mobile_psb_top")||(h=="PSB_Bottom")||(h=="mobile_psb_bottom")||(h=="PSB_Middle")||(h=="mobile_psb_middle")||(h=="leaderboard_home")||(h=="leaderboard_bottom_home")||(h=="mobile_leaderboard_home")||(h=="mobile_leaderboard_bottom_home")){setInterval(function(){googletag.pubads().refresh([g])},240000)}}catch(f){console.log("Error loading Ad banner "+h)}}); try{googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-MR_Story")})}catch(e){console.log("Error displaying Ad banner "+bannerName)}; “The external sector showed deterioration during 2020 with a spike in the current account deficit (CAD),” read the report. “Merchandise exports contracted sharply during 2020 primarily due to a decline in oil prices, even as re-exports surged during the year. Merchandise imports also declined during the year but at a slower pace than exports, leading to a notable reduction in trade surplus. “The services account deficit