Qatar’s economy witnesses strong recovery in Q3

Qatar's economy recovery has picked up in the third quarter. The FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast- Middle East & North Africa for November report revealed that the non-energy private sector PMI averaged markedly higher compared to the second quarter.

This is supported by the progressive lifting of COVID-19 restrictions as the country entered the phase four of the four-stage easing plan on September 1.

According to recent data, the economy contracted 6.1 percent in the second quarter and weighed on by a collapse in the non-energy sector due to lockdown restrictions, as well as a milder downturn in the energy sector.

The report said that the external sector in the final quarter could be weighed on by rising COVID-19 infection rates abroad, although low infections at home have so far allowed the government to keep the domestic economy open.

FocusEconomics panellists expect a 2.9 percent rise in GDP in 2021, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast, before growth of 3.6 percent in 2022.

Consumer prices fell 3 percent in September in annual terms, following August’s 4.1 percent drop, on lower prices for recreation and culture, and housing and utilities.

“Prices are seen declining over 2020 as a whole before rising next year as activity recovers. The possible implementation of VAT in 2021 is an upside risk. Our panellists see consumer prices falling 1.1 percent in 2021, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast. In 2022, our panel sees inflation averaging 1.9 percent,” the FocusEconomics report added.