ع
Qatar Central Bank data released on July 8 showed international reserves and foreign currency liquidity reaching QAR 262.114 billion at the end of June, up from QAR 258.898 billion a year earlier. Official international reserves within that total advanced 1.48 percent, or QAR 2.963 billion, to QAR 202.629 billion over the same period. The Qatar News Agency said the figures reflect continued accumulation even as certain asset classes contracted.
Holdings of foreign bonds and treasury bills dropped by QAR 34.980 billion to QAR 97.160 billion in June 2026 compared with the prior year, according to the central bank’s breakdown. Gold holdings rose sharply by QAR 10.099 billion to QAR 54.595 billion while balances with foreign banks increased QAR 27.919 billion to QAR 45.687 billion. Special Drawing Rights deposits at the International Monetary Fund fell QAR 75 million to QAR 5.186 billion in the same comparison, the QCB figures show.
Those components, together with Qatar’s quota at the International Monetary Fund and other liquid assets, form the official international reserves that combine with additional foreign-currency deposits to produce the broader total, the Qatar News Agency explained. Trading Economics, citing QCB statistics, placed the foreign exchange reserves at 262.064 billion QAR in May 2026 after a marginal increase from April. The June outcome continues a recent run of record territory for the reserves, which averaged far lower levels in earlier decades.
A similar QCB release for March 2026, also distributed by the Qatar News Agency, had shown a 2.21 percent year-on-year expansion in total reserves to QAR 261.972 billion at that time. Gold accumulation has formed a consistent theme, with a February 2026 report from Global Business Outlook noting a 12.8 percent month-on-month jump in gold investments that lifted them to a then-record USD 18.13 billion in January. The latest central bank data indicate that trend extended into the second quarter.
Qatar’s external position benefits from sustained liquefied natural gas export revenues that have underpinned fiscal balances in recent years, according to assessments from the International Monetary Fund. The reserves provide a buffer against commodity price volatility in an economy where energy remains the dominant sector. Central bank figures for the full composition of June reserves list foreign bonds, treasury bills, cash at foreign banks, gold, SDR holdings and additional liquid assets as the primary building blocks.
