The United Arab Emirates is still weighing the option of converting some of the central bank's foreign exchange reserves from dollars into euros, the central bank governor said on Monday.
Speculation that major central banks were looking to trim their dollar holdings reached fever pitch during the greenback's slide against the euro in the three years to 2004.
The speculation eased as the dollar regained ground this year but central bank governor Sultan Nasser al-Suweidi said reserve diversification was still on the agenda for the UAE, a major oil exporter with a currency pegged to the dollar.
"The subject is under discussion at board of directors' meetings. But we haven't made any decision on whether we will move part of our reserves to ... other currencies," Suweidi told Reuters in the capital Abu Dhabi.
UAE central bank foreign reserves are held virtually entirely in dollars, but an official said in July the bank was looking to convert five percent of its holdings into euros. In September Suweidi said the board would discuss the issue.
The central bank rarely publishes data on foreign reserves.
A September 2004 estimate put capital and reserves at around $13.5 billion, although the figure is believed to have risen substantially since then, partly due to record oil revenues.
The central bank controls only part of the official foreign exchange reserves of the UAE, a federation of seven highly autonomous emirates. Other major holders include the investment arms of emirates' governments.
The UAE dirham is linked to the dollar, like most currencies in the Gulf Arab region.