Visitors from GCC nations to the UK rose 2% in the first quarter of 2018 to 161,000 from a year ago, a report by Dun & Bradstreet has shown.
GCC tourists spent around $468mn in the UK between January and March, up 11% from the same period of the prior year.
In 2017, visitors from the GCC to the UK reached 812,000, up 5% from 2016, spending a combined value of around $2.87mn, Dun & Bradstreet said.
According to Oman's Central Bank, the combined balance sheet of conventional and Islamic banks and windows (other depository corporations) indicated that total outstanding credit extended by other depository corporations increased by 6.1% to OMR24.3bn as of the end of June 2018.
Bank credit extended to the private sector rose by 5.1% OMR21.7bn in the same period.
On oil, Dun & Bradstreet cited an International Energy Agency report and said the IEA warned that although the oil market was tightening and world oil demand would reach 100mn bpd in the next three months, global economic risks were mounting.
It said OPEC trimmed its forecast for oil demand growth in 2019 in its monthly report and said that rising challenges in some emerging and developing countries could negatively impact global economic growth.
At the weekend, oil prices slipped as markets focused on the risk that emerging market crises and trade disputes could dent demand even as supply tightens.
On gold, Dun & Bradstreet said the price of the yellow metal gained marginally during the week, surpassing the $1,200 per ounce amid optimism about the US economy and expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue with its interest rate hike plans.