Qatar Economic Outlook Issue Number 13

Figure 2-47: BOP Current account balance & its 
components 
33.3
-8.9
16.0
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
2017
2018
2019
Q
1
Q
2
Q
3
Q
4
2020
Q
1
Q
2
Q
3
Annual
2020
2021
As
%
o
f GD
P
As
%
o
f GD
P
Goods
Services
Income
Transfer
CAB (R-Axis)
Source: QCB and prepared by PSA 

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Part 2 - Economic Performance 2017 - 2020 
 
 
97 
Based on the performance of the net 
balances of (merchandise trade, services, 
income, and current transfers) in 2020, the 
current account recorded a deficit of 2.5% of 
GDP, with a total value of QR13.2 billion, 
equivalent to $3.6 billion, but it regained 
surpluses during the first three quarters of 
2021.
The Financial Account and its 
Components 
The components of the financial account 
witnessed noticeable fluctuations during 
2019 and 2020. The issuance of international 
sovereign bonds, or borrowing from abroad 
(debt bonds), or repayment of loan 
instalments, or banking operations related to 
currencies and deposits transactions 
between Qatari banks and foreign banks, had 
an overall effect on achieving a surplus in the 
financial account by 3.8% and 2.7% of GDP 
in 2019 and 2020, respectively, as shown in 
Figure (2-48). 
Despite the exceptional impacts of Covid-19 
on the balance of payments in 2020, the 
fluctuations of the components of the 
financial accounts repeated the same 
scenario as in 2019, in terms of a significant 
increase in Q1, to reflect the impact of 
issuance of international bonds to finance the 
state budget deficit, followed by a fluctuation 
in the remaining three quarters, which 
reflects developments in monetary and trade 
policies.
As for the first three quarters of 2021, the 
financial account continued to decline, driven 
by the decline in net portfolio investments 
and other investments, although portfolios 
and other investments witnessed growth in 
the Q1 and Q2, respectively, before declining 
together in Q3.