WRAPUP 1-Debt jitters push Bahraini dinar to 17-year low as hedge funds sell | Reuters

WRAPUP 1-Debt jitters push Bahraini dinar to 17-year low as hedge funds sell | Reuters:

Bahrain’s dinar sank to a 17-year low against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday as hedge funds dumped Bahraini bonds because of concern about the country’s rising public debt, regional bankers said. The dinar dropped as low as 0.38261 to the dollar in the spot market. The bankers said they did not detect any concerted attack on the currency, but a plunge in Bahrain’s international bond prices in recent weeks had fuelled jitters in the foreign exchange market. The central bank, which pegs the dinar at 0.37608 and sells dollars when needed to keep its currency close to that level, said in a brief statement that it was committed to the peg and had no plans to alter the dinar’s value.