Asian central banks seen diversifying into euros: EIB

Asian central banks and investors are diversifying their assets into euros in a shift that is boosting the European single currency, a senior official of the European Investment Bank said on Thursday.
Rene Karsenti, director-general of the Luxembourg-based bank's finance directorate, also told Reuters the EIB wanted to increase its borrowing in dollars this year.
"We see more central banks and investors in Asia and elsewhere diversifying their assets into euros," he said in an interview. He mentioned the Middle East as another area moving more heavily into euros.
"We observe that some central banks are looking for high quality, highly liquid euro assets," Karsenti said. Even a small shift in Asian central banks' reserves would have a large impact given their total reserves of more than $1,500 billion, he said.