Qatar posts widest deficit in a decade as gas exports plunge

Qatar’s 2Q 2026 budget deficit ballooned 2,500% to QAR 21.2 bn (USD 5.8 bn) as the country’s LNG exports collapsed from around 20 mn tons a quarter to under 2 mn between April and June. The 2Q deficit nearly doubled q-o-q from QAR 10.3 bn (USD 2.8 bn).

By the numbers: Revenue fell 57% y-o-y to QAR 25.6 bn, and spending dropped by a fifth to QAR 46.8 bn. The first half’s combined QAR 31.5 bn deficit has already blown past the entire QAR 22 bn shortfall Doha budgeted for 2026 — a full-year plan built on a conservative USD 55 / bbl oil assumption.

The economy felt it before the budget did: Qatar’s economy shrank 7% y-o-y in the first quarter, according to the National Planning Council — before the worst of the export hit even showed up in 2Q's fiscal numbers. Government tenders also thinned out as contracts awarded to foreign firms fell 90% y-o-y to just QAR 300 mn in 2Q.

The silver lining: Fitch affirmed Qatar’s AA rating last week and took it off negative watch, though the outlook itself stays negative. Its own model has the economy contracting 18.8% this year, with a rebound next year once the Hormuz reopens. The agency doesn’t expect the recovery to be instant. Even after exports resume, Fitch e

What’s next: Several empty Qatari LNG tankers turned back toward the Gulf this week, as per Bloomberg — the clearest signal yet that Doha is positioning for exports to resume.