A decision by Gulf Arab countries to keep dollar pegs is final but revaluations are still an option for central bankers in the oil-exporting region, the UAE central bank governor said in remarks published on Saturday.
"Revaluation of domestic currencies is still an option on the table for central bank governors in the Gulf countries," the London-based al-Hayat newspaper quoted Sultan Nasser al-Suweidi as saying. But "the decision not to de-link Gulf currencies to the US dollar is final," he said.
Suweidi said on December 5 he would leave the UAE dirham's peg unchanged for the "foreseeable future" after Gulf rulers agreed the day before to keep any currency-reform talk secret to calm markets. Suweidi said last month he was under growing social and economic pressure to drop the peg and instead track a currency basket, including the euro.