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The Group Securities: Overview of Qatari Economy Statistics in March
2018
April 8, 2018
The Group Securities presents figures of the Qatari economy as
reflected in the data available by the end of March 2018. Data
includes population and inflation figures, Qatar Stock Exchange
Indices, oil prices in relation to the approved price in the
public state budget, and the banks’ consolidated balance sheet.
The illustrative infographic sums up the key economic data to
present a snapshot of the economic situation prevalent till the
end of March – except for some data relating to February only.
1-
By the end of
March, local population decreased by about 15,000 people to a
total of 2.685 million, compared to 2.700 million at the end of
February. On an annual basis, the populace increased by 1%,
compared to 2.659 million by the end of March 2017.
2-
QSE’s General
Index declined by 79.3 points to settle at 8574 points by the
end of March. The value of traded shares increased by 66.6% to
QR6.5 billion, as well as the total capitalization by QR9.3
billion to QR470.2 billion by the end of March. As for the P/E
ratio, it rose to a multiple of 12.22.
3-
U.S. Dollar
exchange rate held steady against the Euro - along with the
Qatari Riyal - at $1.25 per Euro by the end of March, and lost
3.3% against the Yen at ¥105.91 per U.S. dollar.
4-
The price of
Qatar's onshore oil decreased by 0.38% to hit $65.25 a barrel in
March, a drop of about $0.25 per barrel compared to February.
Despite that, in the middle of March, the price per barrel
remained higher by $20.25 than the 2018 budget price of $45 per
barrel.
5-
Inflation data
for March has not yet been released. February data, on the other
hand, showed inflation decreasing to 0.8%, from 0.9% in the
month of January. Changes in subgroups were as follows: Housing
and fuel decreased by 5.1%, telecommunications by 1.1%,
restaurants by 0.5%. On the other hand, transport increased by
7.9%, food and beverages by 3.9%, health by 5.3%, clothing and
footwear by 3.4%, furniture and appliances by 0.1%, education by
0.9%.
6-
Trade Balance
data for March has not yet been released. February’s data
however showed a trade surplus of QR14.1 billion, an increase of
QR2.7 billion, or 23.7% compared to the same month from 2017,
and a drop of QR1.7 billion compared to the previous month of
January.
7-
Banks’
consolidated balance sheet for March has not yet been released,
but that of February showed an increase of QR12.6 billion in the
total assets to QR1379.3 billion; the rise of the total
government and public sector credit, including bonds by QR6.5
billion, settling at QR508.4 billion. The private sector credit
also increased by about QR2.9 billion to the level of QR466.3
billion.
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