Qatar’s foreign trade surplus shrank by nearly two-thirds from a year earlier to QR4.78 billion ($1.31 billion) in April, data from the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics showed on Wednesday.
The surplus slumped by 64.7 percent from more than QR10 billion in the year-earlier period because of low natural gas and oil prices.
Exports of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbonsfell 45.1 percent to QR8.63 billion ($2.37 billion), according to the data, cited by Reuters.
Last week, Qatar cut its planned spending on building healthcare facilities by about two-thirds this year following the drop in energy prices.
The world’s top liquefied natural gas exporter is one of the richest countries per capita but it faces a QR46.5 billion ($12.8 billion) budget deficit this year because of the continued lower oil and gas prices.
Like other Gulf states, it is turning to international markets to bridge the gap – it is expected to price its first sovereign bond issue in four years on Wednesday – but it is also having to reduce and prioritise state spending.
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