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

May 13, 2018

The Group Securities presents figures of the Qatari economy as reflected in the data available by the end of April 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 April – except for some data relating to March only.

1-      By the end of April, local population increased by about 22,000 people to a total of 2.707 million, compared to 2.685 million at the end of March. On an annual basis, the populace increased by 1.2%, compared to 2.675 million by the end of April 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 increased - along with the Qatari Riyal - against the Euro to US $1.20 per Euro by the end of April, and increased as well against the Yen to ¥109.06 per U.S. dollar.

4-      The price of Qatar's onshore oil increased by 8.5% to hit $70.80 a barrel in April, an increase of about $5.55 per barrel compared to March. In the middle of April, the price per barrel remained higher by $25.80 than the 2018 budget price of $45 per barrel.

5-      Inflation data for April has not yet been released. March data, on the other hand, showed inflation decreasing to 0.4%, from 0.8% in the month of February. Changes in subgroups were as follows: Housing and fuel decreased by 5.2%, entertainment and leisure dropped by 1.8%, telecommunications by 1.1%, and restaurants by 0.7%. In contrast, transport increased by 6.6%, food and beverages by 4%, health by 5.3%, clothing and footwear by 2.6%, furniture and appliances by 1.1%, education by 0.9%.

6-      Trade Balance data for April has not yet been released. March’s data however showed a trade surplus of QR13.4 billion, an increase of QR4.2 billion, or 45.3% compared to the same month from 2017.

7-      Banks’ consolidated balance sheet for April has not yet been released, but that of March showed an increase of QR15.5 billion in the total assets to QR1394.8 billion; the dropp of the total government and public sector credit, including bonds by QR5.4 billion, settling at QR503 billion. The private sector credit increased by about QR13.9 billion to the level of QR480.2 billion.