Tribune News Network
Doha
The GDP growth in Qatar should gain speed this year, thanks to a boost to government spending and visitor arrivals for the FIFA World Cup scheduled for late 2022, ongoing gas sector investment and improved relations with Gulf neighbours, FocusEconomics has said in a report released recently.
FocusEconomics panellists see a 4.1 percent rise in GDP in 2022, which is up 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast, and 2.6 percent growth in 2023.
According to the report, Qatar’s economic picture for the third quarter of 2021 was mixed. While the non-energy PMI averaged markedly higher relative to the second quarter thanks to the rollback of COVID-19 restrictions, energy output was down notably in annual terms in July and August, before a slight recovery in September. Moving to the fourth quarter, the report said, the non-energy sector appeared to benefit from the shift to the final phase of the government’s lockdown easing plan in early October, with the PMI averaging well above its third-quarter level in the quarter.
On the fiscal front, the government presented its 2022 budget in December. Total spending is seen rising close to 5 percent due to World Cup outlays, while a small fiscal deficit is projected. However, the budget uses a highly conservative oil price projection, and our panellists see a large fiscal surplus this year.
Doha
The GDP growth in Qatar should gain speed this year, thanks to a boost to government spending and visitor arrivals for the FIFA World Cup scheduled for late 2022, ongoing gas sector investment and improved relations with Gulf neighbours, FocusEconomics has said in a report released recently.
FocusEconomics panellists see a 4.1 percent rise in GDP in 2022, which is up 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast, and 2.6 percent growth in 2023.
According to the report, Qatar’s economic picture for the third quarter of 2021 was mixed. While the non-energy PMI averaged markedly higher relative to the second quarter thanks to the rollback of COVID-19 restrictions, energy output was down notably in annual terms in July and August, before a slight recovery in September. Moving to the fourth quarter, the report said, the non-energy sector appeared to benefit from the shift to the final phase of the government’s lockdown easing plan in early October, with the PMI averaging well above its third-quarter level in the quarter.
On the fiscal front, the government presented its 2022 budget in December. Total spending is seen rising close to 5 percent due to World Cup outlays, while a small fiscal deficit is projected. However, the budget uses a highly conservative oil price projection, and our panellists see a large fiscal surplus this year.