On June 21, 2004, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on the State of Qatar to positive from stable. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'A+' long-term and 'A-1' short-term sovereign credit ratings on Qatar. These actions primarily reflect the country's very strong economic prospects--driven largely by the gas industry--combined with continuous prudence in fiscal policy and the ongoing improvement in domestic political institutions. Standard&Poor's expects Qatar's prudent fiscal policy to continue. The State's budget for 2004-2005 assumes an average oil price of $19.0 per barrel and targets a deficit of about 2.5% of GDP. By contrast, taking a baseline assumption of an average Brent crude price of about $34.5 per barrel, there
