Monday 20 July 2009

GCC losing appetite for US dollar assets

When Timothy Geithner, the US Treasury secretary, visited the region last week he pledged Washington’s support for a strong dollar. The latest data on foreign lending to his government helps explain why.

Worries about the health of the US dollar appear to be curbing the Gulf’s appetite for US assets, particularly its desire to lend money to the increasingly indebted US government.

According to the latest US Treasury data, Gulf oil exporters sold a net US$940 million (Dh3.45 billion) in US long-term securities in May, the latest period available, led by a sell-off of a net $1.36bn of long-term US treasury bonds.

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