Arab News, Tuesday, Jun 06, 2023 | Thul-Qidah 17, 1444
Qatar’s budget surplus hit $5.4bn in Q1 exceeding expectations
Qatar:
Qatar registered more than two-thirds of its expected 2023 budget surplus in the
first three months of the year thanks to a large inflow of oil and gas revenues,
the country’s Finance Ministry has revealed.
According to Qatar’s state news agency, the
country’s trade balance was 19.7 billion Qatari riyals ($5.4 billion) in the
black for the first quarter of the year, the equivalent of 68 percent of its
anticipated budget surplus for 2023.
The figure reflects a 70 percent increase compared
to the fourth quarter of 2022, which saw a profit of 11.6 billion riyals.
The total revenues in the first three months of
2023 reached 68.6 billion riyals, of which 63.4 billion came from oil and gas
revenues.
Non-oil revenues made up the remaining 5.2 billion
riyals during the period.
According to previous expectations, the Gulf
nation was anticipated to record a budget surplus of 29 billion riyals by the
end of 2023.
Budget estimates were based on the oil prices of
$65 per barrel, whereas the first quarter saw an average price of $82.2, leading
to the higher revenue.
While issuing this year’s budget, Finance Minister
Ali Al-Kuwari noted the surplus is expected to go toward repaying Qatar’s public
debt, boosting central bank reserves, and increasing the capital of the state’s
sovereign wealth fund.
In April 2023, Qatar recorded a trade surplus of
22 billion riyals, according to a report released by the country’s Planning and
Statistics Authority in May.
The data reflected a 3.5 percent increase over
March while a 35.6 percent decline on an annual basis.
The value of merchandise imports during April 2023
also fell 6.3 percent from the previous year and 9.3 percent from the last month
to reach an estimated 8.7 billion riyals.
Meanwhile, the value of Qatar’s exports of oil,
gas, and condensate tumbled in April to 18.6 billion riyals, reflecting a
decrease of 33.2 percent on an annual basis.