According to official preliminary estimates, Qatar’s GDP increased four percent year on year in the second quarter, fueled primarily by the non-hydrocarbon sector.
On a quarterly basis, however, GDP based on constant prices fell by 0.3 percent, according to the Gulf state’s statistics administration.
In the second quarter, mining and quarrying GDP increased by 0.7 percent year on year, while non-mining and quarrying activity grew by 6.2 percent. The largest annual increase, 41 percent, was in accommodation and food service activities, reflecting the low base last year due to coronavirus-related restrictions. Transportation and storage operations rose 26.9 percent, while manufacturing grew 13.4 percent.
Qatar, a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, reported a $1 billion surplus in the second quarter, owing to higher-than-expected oil prices, according to the finance ministry in August.
In January, it achieved an agreement with Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries over a three-year-old dispute in which they had imposed a diplomatic, trade, and travel boycott. The Al-Ula Agreement, as it was named, ultimately ended the embargo on Qatar.
