NBK: Qatar GDP expected to grow five per cent in 2013

Real GDP growth in Qatar is expected to slow to five per cent and 4.9 per cent in 2013 and 2014 respectively, with real non-oil GDP forecast to grow by eight per cent and 7.6 per cent respectively in the next two years, according to the latest research from the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK).

Meanwhile, inflation in Qatar is forecast to pick up in 2013 and 2014 and reach 3.4 per cent y/y and four per cent y/y, respectively.

By the end of 2012, Qatar’s economy should benefit from its first full year of maximum LNG output (77 million tonnes). This will cap a remarkable decade of investment and expansion in the country’s gas sector which has delivered double-digit average annual growth and seen Qatar assume the mantle of the world’s largest LNG exporter and highest per capita income country.

In view of the completion of LNG expansion and the moratorium on further gas exploration in the North Field until at least 2014, growth is set to moderate substantially. As a result, real GDP is forecast to slow to five per cent during 2013-14. Moreover, pending enhancement and further development of the country’s aging oil fields, which is scheduled over the next few years, oil production is likely to remain below potential.

Read more: http://www.gulfbase.com/news/nbk-qatar-gdp-expected-to-grow-five-per-cent-in-2013/229685