#Oman to Use Windfall From High Oil Prices to Prepay $1.33 Billion Loans in July - Bloomberg

Oman to Use Windfall From High Oil Prices to Prepay $1.33 Billion Loans in July - Bloomberg

Oman plans to prepay $1.33 billion in loans this month as the Gulf nation uses the windfall from higher oil prices to reduce its public debt.

The sultanate is using prepayments, bond buybacks and local debt sales to cut the cost of funding, state-run Oman News Agency reported. The government expects to save 127 million rials ($330 million) from these moves and aims to invest it in development projects.

Oil’s surge on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed crude above the break-even level for almost all the Middle East’s producers. Oman recorded a budget surplus of 631 million rials in the first five months of the year.

Oman, which needs oil at about $61 a barrel to balance its books, has implemented a series of reforms to bridge the budget gap and lower its debt, including the introduction of a 5% value-added tax last year.