#Qatar posts $208 million second-quarter budget deficit as spending rises | Reuters

Qatar posts $208 million second-quarter budget deficit as spending rises | Reuters

Qatar posted a budget deficit of 757 million riyals ($208 million) in the second quarter of 2025, as public spending rose 5.7% from the year-earlier period, the finance ministry said on Thursday.

Qatar, the world's third-largest liquefied natural gas exporter, saw revenue ease 0.1% 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 529 million 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 34 billion riyals of revenue in the second quarter, while non-hydrocarbon industries generated just under 26 billion riyals over the same period.

Exclusive: BlackRock-led group set to invest in $10 billion Aramco Jafurah infrastructure deal | Reuters

Exclusive: BlackRock-led group set to invest in $10 billion Aramco Jafurah infrastructure deal | Reuters

Saudi Aramco (2223.SE), opens new tab is close to a deal to raise around $10 billion from a group led by BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab that has been set up to invest in the infrastructure of Aramco's Jafurah gas project, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The agreement would be the latest in a series of financial arrangements, akin to borrowing, that allow Gulf oil producing countries to raise money to diversify their economies while promising investors a stable revenue stream.

The two people said the latest transaction was expected to be similarly structured to two Aramco infrastructure deals in 2021, including one in which BlackRock invested in Aramco's gas pipeline networks, allowing the Saudi company to generate funds.

Aramco kept control of the underlying infrastructure while the investors earned tariffs from the oil firm for the use of the pipelines.

Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. They did not say when the deal might be finalised. Aramco and BlackRock declined to comment.

The $100 billion Jafurah project, potentially the biggest shale gas project outside the United States, is central to Aramco's ambitions to become a major global player in natural gas and to boost its gas production capacity by 60% by 2030 from 2021 levels.

The Jafurah assets underpinning the deal include gas pipelines and a gas processing plant, one of the sources said.

Aramco has long been the biggest source of the kingdom's revenues. Saudia Arabia has been seeking to diversify its economy as oil prices have come under pressure from global economic uncertainty that could further reduce demand.

They have also been depressed by increased output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, which is striving to boost market share.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Aramco was seeking to sell up to five gas-fired power plants to raise funds.

Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf markets gain on earnings boost; #Saudi index extends losses

Mideast Stocks: Most Gulf markets gain on earnings boost; Saudi index extends losses

Most stock markets rebounded on Thursday, lifted by positive corporate earnings and announcements, though Saudi Arabia's benchmark index remained under pressure and logged an eighth straight loss.

Dubai's main index jumped 2.2% to hit a fresh 17.5-year high, buoyed by financials. Emirates NBD climbed 4%, extending gains for a third consecutive session, after the top lender announced it had concluded 3.9 billion dirhams in syndicated loans for Dubai Metro's Blue Line Project.

Budget airliner Air Arabia surged 3.9% to a record high on plans to increase its Abu Dhabi unit's operational capacity by 40% this year, following Wizz Air Abu Dhabi's exit from the market, citing regional instability.

In Abu Dhabi, the Index added 0.7%, with a 3.5% surge in First Abu Dhabi Bank. Strong bank earnings supported sentiment across the UAE financials. Qatar's benchmark gave up early losses to close 1% higher after Qatar Islamic Bank rose 3.8%.

The country's top Islamic lender reported a 5.3% year-on-year rise in first-half earnings and declared a 0.4 riyal per share dividend, up 60% from a year earlier. Markets also calmed after U.S. President Donald Trump denied that he was planning to fire the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but kept the door open to the possibility.

A Bloomberg report had said Trump was likely to fire Powell soon. Investors believed that Powell's replacement would have a more lenient stance on monetary policy and that additional interest-rate cuts would be possible this year.

Monetary policy in the Gulf tends to mirror the Fed's moves, given the region's currency pegs to the U.S. dollar. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index slipped 0.3%, falling for an eighth consecutive session, with Saudi National Bank losing 1.8%.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index gained 1%, nearing an all-time high, with most sectors in the green.

Egypt's Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk said on Wednesday he was confident the country would hit its key economic reform targets and have a delayed review of its $8 billion International Monetary Fund programme completed by September or October.