UAE central bank posts sharp rise in foreign currency supply

Dubai, July 23: The central bank of the United Arab Emirates said on Sunday that its total assets have increased by 10.8 per cent to 391.96 billion dirham ($106.8 billion) in the first half of this year. The report added that the total foreign currency supply at the UAE Central Bank surged to 338.34 billion dirham ($92.19 billion) by the end of June, a growth of 47.6 billion dirham ($12.97 billion) and a 16.37 per cent increase from the beginning of 2017, according to data recently released by the bank.

The bank explained that the growth in bank balances and deposits overseas were the driving forces behind the rise. The UAE currency, the dirham, is pegged in a fixed regime to the US dollar, as one dollar equals 3.677 dirham. Held-to-maturity securities have risen in value during the same period from 101.46 billion dirham to 104.33 billion dirham, while “other foreign assets” increased from 5.29 billion dirham to 6.36 billion dirham. (IANS)