3 Gulf states withdraw deposits from Qatari banks

CAIRO – 28 June 2017: Saudi Arabia, U.A.E. and Bahrain withdrew $16 billion of short-term deposits from Qatari banks, Gulf sources claimed on Wednesday.

The move by the three Gulf states comes alongside the U.S. dollar shortage in Qatar since the diplomatic crisis began on 5 June. Qatari banks are pursuing new financial policies to be carried out during upcoming days to rationalize the purchase of dollars.

The tiny Gulf country runs the risk of major economic catastrophe that may destroy its economy which has already deteriorated following the diplomatic rift between Qatar and its neighboring Arab powers.

The Qatari riyal continues to drop very sharply, falling in recent days to its lowest record in three decades reaching 77.3 riyals against the dollar, while the official price stands at 63.3 against the dollar.

According to foreign economic reports, “Qatar is on the threshold of an economic downturn. Earlier, Qatar Petroleum announced that it has asked some important employees to ‘postpone trips abroad’ for operational reasons as a result of the embargo by Gulf Arab states against Qatar.”