Qatar rides the storm

Continuing LNG exports are boosting Qatar's economic resilience in the face of the Saudi-led blockade

Since 5 June, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and imposed a land, sea and air blockade against it, the country's economy has had to respond to a major financial shock. Over the first six months of the sanctions, Qatari banks faced $35.4bn in capital outflows and the central bank had to cope with a $21bn drop in foreign exchange reserves. Against this backdrop, and given the general current expectations that a diplomatic solution is still far off, analysts and investors have started to speculate: can Qatar avoid a financial collapse and sustain the currency peg? Will it meet the large capital expenditure commitments associ