Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain officials said on Thursday that they see no need to change their more than two-decade-old fixed-exchange rates to the US dollar. “We are committed to the peg because it serves us well,” Saudi central bank Governor Mohamed Al-Jasser said yesterday at an Islamic Financial Services Board conference held in Singapore. The dollar still remains the “dominant” global currency, he said. “If things change, one way or the other, that's what the central bank is there to do, to continue viewing all aspects of the economy and take whatever is necessary to ensure stability,” he added. Qatar Central Bank Governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saoud Al-Thani said interest rates would be held steady for now, even as inflation has started falling. Al-Thani said at the conference that he was “happy” with the country's dollar link, while his counterpart in Bahrain, Rasheed Al-Maraj, said there would be no change in stance. Saudi Arabia has kept the riyal pegged since 1986 and Bahrain since 1980.
