The Group Securities: Overview of Qatari Economy Statistics in June 2018

June 5, 2018

The Group Securities presents figures of the Qatari economy as reflected in the data available by the end of June 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 June compared to the previous two months – except for some data relating to May only.

1-      By the end of June, local population decreased by about 151,000 people due to the holidays season to a total of 2.581 million, compared to 2.732 million at the end of May. On an annual basis, the populace increased by 1.4%, compared to 2.546 million by the end of June 2017.

 

2-      QSE’s General Index rose by 143.5 points to settle at 9024 points by the end of June. Although, the total value of traded shares decreased by QR2.9 billion to QR7.97 billion, the total capitalization increased by QR1.9 billion to QR493.7 billion by the end of June, and the P/E ratio declined to a multiple of 12.54.

 

3-      U.S. Dollar exchange rate increased - along with the Qatari Riyal - against the Euro to the level of US $1.16 per Euro by the end of June, and rose against the Yen at ¥110.61 per U.S. dollar.

 

4-      The price of Qatar's onshore oil dropped by about US $1 to hit US $76 a barrel in June. In the middle of June, the price per barrel remained above the 2018 budget price by about US $31 per barrel.

 

5-      Inflation data for June has not yet been released. May’s data, on the other hand, showed inflation increasing by 0.5%, from 0.1% recorded in the month of April. Changes in subgroups were as follows: Housing and fuel decreased by 4.8%, entertainment and leisure dropped by 2.4%, and telecommunications fell by 1%. In contrast, transport increased by 7.8%, food and beverages by 1.8%, and health rose by 3.4%.

 

6-      Trade Balance data for June has not yet been released. May’s data however showed a trade surplus of QR14.9 billion, an increase of QR4.2 billion, or 39.5% compared to the same month from 2017, and an increase of QR0.1 billion, or 0.5% for the previous month of April.

 

7-      Banks’ consolidated balance sheet for June has not yet been released, but that of May showed a decrease of QR6.8 billion in the total assets to QR1346.5 billion; and the rise of the total government and public sector credit, including bonds by QR5 billion, settling at QR461.7 billion. The private sector credit increased by about QR4 billion to the level of QR488 billion.