British banking institutions suspend dealinh Qatari Riyal

British currency exchange companies suspended trading with Qatari Riyal temporarily while other companies said that the Qatari currency is currently not available amid the diplomatic crisis between some Arab countries and Doha.

The spokeswoman for Exchange Company Travelex said in a statement on Thursday that the company has resumed purchasing the Qatari riyal globally after a brief suspension “due to business challenges”.

For her part, a spokeswoman for the British Post Office, which is one of the leading agencies that provide currency exchange services in Britain, told Asharq Al-Awsat that it has suspended all its trading in the Qatari Riyal since June 5.

In a statement issued, the British company explained that “many foreign currency providers have stopped trading in Qatari riyal temporarily, meaning that the currency is not available currently at Post Office branches.”

It explained that the office will respect its commitment to the principle of “guaranteeing repurchase” to customers and that the situation will remain under review by UK Currency Providers.

Notably, Standard and Poor’s on June 7 downgraded its long-term rating of Qatar by one notch, to “AA-“ from “AA”, and put the rating on watch, meaning there was a significant chance of a further downgrade while Fitch put it under control after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt cut their diplomatic relations with Doha.

Standard and Poor’s said that the continuation of the crisis for a long time will weaken the economic growth in Qatar.