Qatar posted a budget deficit of 757 million riyals ($208m) in the second quarter of 2025, as public spending rose 5.7 per cent from the year-earlier period, the finance ministry said yesterday.
Qatar, the world’s third-largest liquefied natural gas exporter, saw revenue ease 0.1pc 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 529m 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 34bn riyals of revenue in the second quarter, while non-hydrocarbon industries generated just under 26 billion riyals over the same period.
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