Mubasher: Higher oil prices are expected to boost Qatar’s economy, especially after four Arab nations — the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt — boycotted Qatar since last summer, according to Qatar National Bank’s (QNB) weekly economic report.
In April 2018, Qatar’s trade surplus went up 49% year-on-year to QAR 14.7 billion, according to recent statistics.
The report ascribed the increase in the GCC nation's trade surplus comes to higher hydrocarbon prices.
“The export surge is driven by the dominant hydrocarbon sector, whose exports were up QAR 4.7 billion versus last April so accounting for around 90% of exports’ total gain,” the report highlighted.
Oil sector adds around QAR 1 billion on a year-on-year basis.
As result of the Arab rift, the world's top exporter of liquefied natural gas started searching for other destinations, especially in Asai, to expand its investments and improve its economy.
Qatar's exports to Japan, the world's largest LNG importer, were particularly strong in April, up nearly QAR 2 billion compared to the same period of the prior year.
Producer price index (PPI) also helped in improving the Persian country’s economy in April due to the growth of 24.3% year-on-year in industrial prices with a 31.1% year-on-year gain in hydrocarbon prices, the report highlighted.
“Both export revenues and the trade surplus can be expected to enjoy a further uplift in the coming months”, QNB’s report forecasts.
