Putting all speculation to rest, the UAE Central Bank Governor, Sultan bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, has said there is no plan “for the time being” to revalue the dirham against the dollar, reported an Arabic newspaper on Friday.


“There is no intention at this time to revalue the dirham against the dollar. And we have not made any changes in this regard,” Al Ittihad quoted Al Suwaidi as saying.

According to the daily, he also denied recent reports suggesting that the UAE Central Bank has set up a currency taskforce to study a possible revaluation, quoting the governor as saying “such a committee does not exist at all”.

The dirham has been pegged to the greenback at a fixed rate of 3.67 dirhams to the dollar since the early 1980s. The dollar fell this week to a record low against the euro and a basket of major currencies. It stands at a 13-year low against the yen.

The Gulf economies are surging on a five-fold increase in oil prices since 2002. In view of the downslide of the dollar, there was widespread speculation that the central bank will consider a 20 per cent appreciation of the dirham to inject more purchasing power to the country’s currency. (Agencies)