Qatar approves budget, expects to revenue to rise 22.1%

DOHA: Qatar has approved its budget for the 2022 fiscal year, Arab News quoted the country’s Minister of Finance Ali Al Kuwari said in a press conference.

Revenues are expected to amount to 196 billion riyals ($53.8 billion), a 22.4 per cent rise compared to last year’s budget estimates, Asharq reported.

Estimates for the budget were made while assuming oil prices to be $55 per barrel during the year on the back of healthier global energy prices.

Additionally, expenditures are predicted to hit 204.3 billion riyals, growing by an annual rate of 4.9 per cent.

This will lead to a budget deficit of 8.3 billion riyals. Al Kuwari added that this deficit will be addressed through current monetary balances and the issuance of local and foreign debt instruments if needed.

EU’s economy

Output in the EU expanded by a quarterly rate of 2.1 per cent in this year’s third quarter, according to preliminary estimates by Eurostat.

Austria experienced the highest rise in activity, recording an economic growth rate of 3.9 per cent. France and Portugal came next, as their economies widened 3 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively.

Household consumption mainly drove the production’s rise in the region, going up 4 per cent, accelerating from the previous quarter’s 3.7 per cent expansion.

The government’s final consumption expenditure climbed 0.3 per cent, while gross fixed capital formation declined 0.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, employment growth reached 0.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2021 when compared to the previous quarter.

In addition, the euro area’s Indicator of Economic Sentiment improved 0.9 points in December to hit 26.8 points, Zew, a Germany economic policy institute, said.

However, the outlook was different for Germany, as its sentiment indicator fell 1.8 points to reach 29.9 points. Deteriorations caused by the pandemic, as well as supply chain disruptions, are dragging the German economy down, the Mannheim-based firm noted.

Economic expectations also fell, signalling that forecasts about healthy short-term growth are not gaining momentum.

Moreover, the country’s industrial production went up by a monthly rate of 2.8 per cent in October, preliminary estimates by Germany’s Federal Statistics Office showed.

In particular, production of capital goods widened 8.2 per cent while output of intermediate goods dropped 0.4 per cent.

Japan’s household spending

Household spending in Japan continued to fall, on an annual basis, for the third month in a row. This was attributed to weak consumer sentiment that is still recovering from the pandemic.

Spending by the sector dropped by a yearly rate of 0.6 per cent in October, compared to a 1.9 per cent fall in the previous month.

The country’s government recently introduced a $490 billion stimulus package to boost the economy, unlike other countries that are starting to roll back on their spending programs, Reuters reported.

Australia’s monetary policy

Australia’s central bank maintained its monetary policy and interest rate unchanged. The decision was driven by concerns over omicron, the new coronavirus variant.

The country’s interest rate remained at 0.1 per cent, according to Bloomberg. The bank noted that it will raise interest rates when inflation reaches its target of 2 per cent to 3 per cent.

The bank added that the labor market and economy are experiencing upturns.

China’s trade

Exports and imports in China grew annually 22 per cent and 32 per cent in November, compared with a year earlier, reaching all-time records.

Yet, exports growth slowed down due to a thinning demand and a rise in costs.

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