Strong oil prices along with high gas exports will boost Qatar’s real GDP by a whopping 20 per cent in 2011, maintaining its position as one of the world’s fastest growing economies, official forecasts have shown.

The Gulf country, the world’s top LNG supplier, saw its GDP racing by nearly 16.3 per cent in 2010 and growth will pick up this year because of higher crude prices and the completion of gas projects to produce a record 77 million tonnes per year, the Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) said.

In 2010, high oil prices allies with soaring LNG exports to allow Qatar to record a current account surplus of nearly $21.09 billion and the balance will remain as high as 26.4 per cent of GDP this year, the AMF said in its quarterly report.

“Qatar’s real GDP is projected to surge by around 20 per cent this year against growth of 16.3 per cent in 2010 as a result of high oil prices and expansion in its LNG exports and infrastructure projects,” it said.

The report expected Qatar to rebound into inflation of around three per cent in 2010 after recording a deflation rate of 2.6 per cent in 2010. It noted that inflation stood at 1.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2011.

Government data in Doha showed Qatar’s GDP swelled by around 21.1 per cent in current prices in the third quarter of 2010 and the report said this indicated the country’s economy is showing considerable recovery.

From around QR91.8 billion in the third quarter of 2009, Qatar’s nominal GDP surged to nearly QR111.2 billion in the third quarter of 2010, showed the report by the government statistics authority.

“The estimates of GDP in Q3 of 2010 show considerable recovery in the economy when compared to the estimates Q2 of 2010,” it said.

A breakdown showed the oil and gas sector recorded the highest growth of 36.2 per cent year-on-year while transport and communication soared by around 18.8 per cent in the third quarter. Growth was estimated at 16.7 per cent in finance, real estate and business services, at 14.7 per cent in imputed bank service charges, and about 8.8 per cent in electricity and water.

The report gave no figures for real GDP growth but Qatar’s economy has recorded one of the world’s largest increases in real terms over the past few years because of a massive rise in its LNG exports.

The tiny Gulf nation, a small OPEC oil producer, announced in late 2010 it had completed projects to pump nearly 77 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to become the world’s dominant LNG exporter.

The AMF, a key Arab League organization, said strong oil prices and higher LNG exports would also positively Qatar’s internal and external fiscal balance.

“Qatar’s budget recorded an estimated surplus of 12 per cent in 2009-2010 against 14.1 per cent in the previous fiscal year….preliminary projections show there will be a surplus of around 10.6 per cent this year,” it said.

“As for the current account, it sharply widened to $21.09 billion in 2010 from $10 billion in 2009 and is expected to reach 26.4 per cent of GDP this year.”

The report showed Qatar’s exports totalled around $67.2 billion in 2010 while imports stood at nearly $35.7 billion, leaving a trade surplus of $31.5 billion.

Qatar, which sits atop the world’s third largest natural gas resources, assumed a surplus of QR9.7 billion in its current fiscal year, which started on April 1. Expenditures were estimated at QR117.9 billion and revenue, mostly from the sale of oil and liquefied natural gas, at 127.5 billion.

Qatar basked in the highest budget surplus during 2009-2010 because of a surge in revenue although the world’s top LNG exporter had projected a deficit.

Despite an increase in spending, the fiscal surplus leaped to an all time high of around QR46.3 billion in the 2009-2010 fiscal year, which ended on March 31.

Qatar had forecast a deficit of QR5.8 billion in its 2009-2010 budget despite a slight fall in planned spending for the year. The deficit was assumed on the basis of a sharp fall in revenue from around QR103.3 billion in 2008-2009 to QR88.7 billion in 2009-2010 mainly because of a steep drop in crude prices.

But actual revenue shot up to their highest level of QR165.6 billion in 2009-2010 due to a large increase in non-oil earnings. Expenditure also climbed to a record high of QR108 billion from around QR99.2 billion in the previous fiscal year.