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Satyendra Pathak
Doha
Qatar’s economy likely picked up in the second half of 2019, FocusEconomics has said in its latest report.
According to FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast-Middle East & North Africa for January report, Qatar’s industrial output strengthened in the third quarter, while the non-oil sector PMI recovered in the fourth quarter.
Moreover, the report said, year-on-year credit and visitor arrivals growth was strong in October–November, boding well for private consumption.
The Qatari government announced in December that the 2020 budget will amount to roughly $58 billion, a 1.9 percent increase from 2019, with major spending pencilled in for World Cup 2022 preparations.
The high spending budget will have a positive effect on the economy.
The report said that economic activity is expected to pick up notable steam in 2020 as the Barzan gas facility comes online and investment in the expansion of the North Field gas project intensifies.
FocusEconomics panellists see growth of 2.2 percent in 2020 and 2.5 percent in 2021.
The country’s economic growth will further accelerate to 2.6 percent in 2022 and almost 3 percent for the next two years, the report said.
Inflation in the country slowed to 0.7 percent year-on-year in November.
Inflation should return this year on a more favourable base effect, some likely recovery in the housing market and an expected pick-up in economic activities.
“Our panellists expect average consumer prices to increase 1.3 percent in 2020, which is down 0.6 percentage points from last month’s forecast. In 2021, our panel sees inflation averaging 1.4 percent,” the report said.
The report has also indicated that the GDP per capita in Qatar will also increase from $71,925 in 2020 to $74,620 in 2021.
According to the annual data released as part of the report, the overnight lending rate in the country would continue to rise from the current level and reach up to 4.58 percent by 2024.
The Qatari riyal will continue to be pegged at $3.64 in the years to come, the report said.
The country would witness a sustained increase in both imports and exports in the coming years. While the merchandise exports from the country are expected to rise from $75.7 billion in 2019 to $102.8 billion in 2024, the report said, merchandise imports would increase from $32.3 billion in 2019 to $42.5 billion in 2024.
FocusEconomics, a leading provider of economic analysis, has also forecast that Qatar’s trade balance would rise from $43.4 billion in 2019 to $60.3 billion in 2023.
The report has projected that Qatar’s current account balance will account for 4.8 percent of the total GDP in 2019. The percentage of current account balance would rise to 5.2 percent in 2024, the report said.
Qatar’s current account balance turned positive in 2017 and reached $16.6 billion in 2018, the report said, adding that it will continue to remain in the positive territory for the next six years.
Doha
Qatar’s economy likely picked up in the second half of 2019, FocusEconomics has said in its latest report.
According to FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast-Middle East & North Africa for January report, Qatar’s industrial output strengthened in the third quarter, while the non-oil sector PMI recovered in the fourth quarter.
Moreover, the report said, year-on-year credit and visitor arrivals growth was strong in October–November, boding well for private consumption.
The Qatari government announced in December that the 2020 budget will amount to roughly $58 billion, a 1.9 percent increase from 2019, with major spending pencilled in for World Cup 2022 preparations.
The high spending budget will have a positive effect on the economy.
The report said that economic activity is expected to pick up notable steam in 2020 as the Barzan gas facility comes online and investment in the expansion of the North Field gas project intensifies.
FocusEconomics panellists see growth of 2.2 percent in 2020 and 2.5 percent in 2021.
The country’s economic growth will further accelerate to 2.6 percent in 2022 and almost 3 percent for the next two years, the report said.
Inflation in the country slowed to 0.7 percent year-on-year in November.
Inflation should return this year on a more favourable base effect, some likely recovery in the housing market and an expected pick-up in economic activities.
“Our panellists expect average consumer prices to increase 1.3 percent in 2020, which is down 0.6 percentage points from last month’s forecast. In 2021, our panel sees inflation averaging 1.4 percent,” the report said.
The report has also indicated that the GDP per capita in Qatar will also increase from $71,925 in 2020 to $74,620 in 2021.
According to the annual data released as part of the report, the overnight lending rate in the country would continue to rise from the current level and reach up to 4.58 percent by 2024.
The Qatari riyal will continue to be pegged at $3.64 in the years to come, the report said.
The country would witness a sustained increase in both imports and exports in the coming years. While the merchandise exports from the country are expected to rise from $75.7 billion in 2019 to $102.8 billion in 2024, the report said, merchandise imports would increase from $32.3 billion in 2019 to $42.5 billion in 2024.
FocusEconomics, a leading provider of economic analysis, has also forecast that Qatar’s trade balance would rise from $43.4 billion in 2019 to $60.3 billion in 2023.
The report has projected that Qatar’s current account balance will account for 4.8 percent of the total GDP in 2019. The percentage of current account balance would rise to 5.2 percent in 2024, the report said.
Qatar’s current account balance turned positive in 2017 and reached $16.6 billion in 2018, the report said, adding that it will continue to remain in the positive territory for the next six years.
