The Qatari economy has shown signs of strength in recent months, FocusEconomics has said in its August report.
According to the report, construction activity in Qatar has increased significantly as preparations continued for the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
In May, the report said, the merchandise trade surplus grew by nearly 40 percent year-on-year due to increased energy exports.
"All these factors highlight the resilience of the external sector, given that Qatar continues to face a trade embargo from several of its neighbors," the report said.
Moreover, in June, business conditions improved in the non-oil and gas private sector for the eleventh consecutive month.
"The economy should be supported by higher oil and gas prices in 2018, as well as by the government's infrastructure investment push in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup," it said.
FocusEconomics panelists forecast growth of 2.6 percent in 2018 and 2.8 percent in 2019 for Qatar.
While the economic growth will remain the same at 2.8 percent in 2020, the report said, it will be accelerating from 2021 and reach up to 3 percent in 2022.
Inflation decelerated to 0.1 percent in June from 0.5 percent in May on lower prices for housing, water, electricity and other fuel, the report said adding the panel sees inflation averaging 1.5 percent in 2018 and 2.6 percent in 2019. The report has also indicated that inflation would remain below 2.5 percent for the next three years.
The GDP per capita in Qatar will also increase from $60,943 in 2017 to $62,620 in 2018 and reach up to $75,063 in 2022, the report said.
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According to the annual data released as part of the report, the overnight lending rate in the country would continue to rise from the current 5.5 percent and reach up to 6.11 percent by 2022. Qatari riyal will continue to be pegged at $3.64 in the years to come, the report said.
According to the report, the country would witness a sustained increase in both imports and exports. While the merchandise exports from the country are expected to rise from $67.1 billion in 2017 to $80.3 billion in 2018, the report said, merchandise imports would increase from $30.6 billion in 2017 to $33.1 billion in 2018 and rise up to $43.7 billion in 2022.
FocusEconomics, a leading provider of economic analysis, has also forecast that Qatar's trade balance would rise from $36.5 billion in 2017 to $47.3 billion in 2018.
The report has also projected that Qatar's current account balance would account for 7.5 percent of the total GDP.
Qatar's current account balance turned positive to $6.4 billion in 2017 and is expected to rise to $13 billion in 2018, the report said.
By Satyendra Pathak
