30 November 2007
The United Arab Emirates’ central bank has announced that local banks are allowed to accept deposits in euro, Gulf News reported, adding that the decision represents the first step towards a more efficient monetary policy. So far, the UAE allowed deposits only in the national currency, dirham, or in U.S. dollars. Despite the fact that the dirham is firmly bound to the dollar, the continuous decrease of the U.S. currency against the euro and the rising inflation, whose annual rate is about to reach 10%, has forced the UAE political and economic world to open the market to other foreign currencies as well.