Qatar’s January trade surplus increased by 62.2 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the country’s Ministry of Development, Planning and Statistics.
The country’s surplus rose to AED10.9 billion ($3 billion) in January from QR10.7 billion in December and up from QR6.7 billion in January 2016.
Qatar’s December trade surplus, which increased 21.7 percent from a year earlier, was its only monthly rise in 2016.
Exports of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons climbed 13.7 percent to QR13.27 billion ($3.65 billion).
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast that Qatar’s real GDP growth is expected to reach 3.4 percent in 2017 from about 2.7 percent in 2016 as the country effectively adjusts to the new reality of sustained lower energy prices.
In a research note, the IMF said the rise in 2017 growth reflects an expansion in the non-hydrocarbon sector due to World Cup-related spending and supported by added output from the new Barzan gas project.
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