Economic Commentary from the Qatar National Bank

The US-Qatar Business Council would like to provide its user-base with the following economic commentary from the Qatar National Bank (QNB). The views of QNB do not necessarily reflect the views of the Council. “Oil prices had an eventful year in 2015. They began the year by recovering some of the losses incurred in the second half of 2014, rising from USD49 per barrel (/b) in mid-January to USD68/b in early May. Subsequently, the recovery fully evaporated with oil prices falling to USD43/b by the end of August. A period of stabilization ensued in the following two months as oil traded in the USD45-55 range. Since early November, however, oil prices resumed their decline and they are currently trading around mid-30s. The latest price decline can be attributed to a mixture of demand and supply factors. And while some analysts have highlighted the role of speculators in the recent price drop, we see little evidence supporting this claim.” Download the full commentary in English Download the full commentary in Arabic