Qatar Central Bank decided Monday, February 5, to cut its interest rate on the riyal by half a point to 5.65 percent, in a move to cut lending rates and boost the local economy. "The new interest rate will be 5.65 percent instead of 6.15 percent," the bank's governor, Abdulah bin Khalid al-Attiyah, announced in a statement carried by newspapers.
The cut will lower lending rates and "lead to the flow of more money into the local stock market and investment of more funds into development projects," a banking source told the Gulf Times. The currency of the Gulf Arab state, which sits on top of the world's third largest gas reserves after Russia and Iran, is linked to the greenback at a fixed exchange rate of 3.64 riyals to the dollar.
The US Federal Reserve sliced a half point off its key rates on Wednesday to boost the slumping US economy.—(AFP)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
