Qatar posts $208mln second-quarter budget deficit as spending rises
Qatar, the world's third-largest liquefied natural gas exporter, saw revenue ease 0.1% from the same quarter of 2024, to 59.847 billion riyals.
Total public spending stood at 60.604 billion riyals, with the budget based on an average oil price of $66.80 a barrel, the finance ministry said.
Qatar also posted a budget deficit of 529 million riyals in the first quarter of the year, ending a 3-year run of surpluses.
Like its oil-rich Gulf neighbours, Qatar is looking to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons, but remains reliant on gas revenue for the majority of the government's income.
Oil and gas accounted for 34 billion riyals of revenue in the second quarter, while non-hydrocarbon industries generated just under 26 billion riyals over the same period.
($1 = 3.6427 Qatar riyals)
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