Gulf Arab countries will discuss pegging their planned single currency to a basket instead of the US dollar, a Kuwaiti government official said on Tuesday, putting the greenback’s regional status in question.
Kuwait — the only Gulf Arab state to peg to a currency basket, which includes the dollar — will host the annual meeting of Gulf Rulers in December.
The Gulf Cooperation Council has long said the single currency is expected to be linked to the dollar, although Qatar has questioned its riyal peg recently as the dollar fell to 15-month lows against major currencies.
“It is not necessary for the GCC currency to be linked to a certain currency. It could be one currency or a basket of currencies,” Kuwait Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammad Al Salem Al Sabah told parliament.
“And this will be discussed among the Gulf countries.”
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