Qatar holds reserves worth $340 billion that could prop up the country despite being secluded by its powerful Arab neighbors according to its central bank governor Sheikh Abdullah Bin Saoud al-Thani. He has confidently said that they could weather shocks with their sufficient reserves. In particular, the central bank has $40 billion reserves including gold and Qatar’s Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund keeps $300 billion in reserves that can be utilized for liquidation. Qatari stocks have declined and its currency has volatility in trading the spot market when neighboring countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut its diplomatic ties with the country as it was accused of fostering terrorism. However, Doha repudiated this recrimination. Although there have been outflows from foreign investors, these did not have much of an effect. The strength of the Qatari riyal is highly dependent on the U.S. dollar which is anticipated to continue as he said. Also, the long-term contracts for the gas and oil sectors were not disrupted. Moody’s rating adjusted its outlook of Qatar’s credit rating back to stable following its negative rating but there are still risks from the political dispute with other Arab countries. Nevertheless, the country has taken some countermeasures to face the crisis.
