Muscat: Oman's trade balance posted a surplus of OMR 3.4 billion by the end of May, up 37.2% from OMR 2.5 billion in the same period last year.

According to Qatar News Agency, the total value of merchandise exports rose 10.1% to about OMR 10.6 billion, from OMR 9.6 billion a year earlier, the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) said in a statement Saturday.

The increase was driven mainly by an 8.4% rise in oil and gas exports, which reached OMR 6.8 billion, up from OMR 6.3 billion a year earlier, the Center said.

Re-exports rose 64% to OMR 1 billion, from OMR 623 million, while non-oil exports edged up 1.5% to OMR 2.74 billion, compared with OMR 2.70 billion a year earlier.

Merchandise imports rose 0.8% to OMR 7.22 billion by the end of May, from OMR 7.20 billion in the same period last year.