Central Bank’s foreign currency assets up 12.1%

abu dhabi — Total currency assets held by the UAE Central Bank, CBUAE, abroad reached Dh326 billion in January, an increase of 12.1 per cent over the same month in 2017,when they stood at Dh290.7 billion, according to official figures.

The surge in the Central Bank’s foreign assets were driven by the rise in current account balances and deposits with banks abroad from Dh129.8 billion in January 2017 to Dh254.9 billion in January 2018.

The foreign assets exclude CB’s Reserve Tranche Position (RTP) and Special Drawing Rights holdings with the International Monetary Fund.

With regards to monetary base, it valued Dh358.1 billion by end of January 2018 including reserve requirements at Dh121.1 billion, certificates of deposit at Dh132.4 billion, currency issued at Dh83.2 billion and banks current accounts at CBUAE at Dh21.1 billion, CBUAE data showed.

For the month under review, government deposits, monetary deposits and quasi monetary deposits stood at Dh203.7 billion, Dh429.7 billion and Dh779 billion respectively.

Meanwhile, for the first time in more than a decade the cost of ensuring Dubai’s bonds against default has fallen below 100 basis points. Dubai’s credit default swaps were at almost 1,000 basis points in 2009, according to CMA prices compiled by Bloomberg. Like other emergingmarket peers, the securities have benefited from demand for yield. Another reason is that “there hasn’t been much supply of government bonds out of Dubai”, said Abdul Kadir Hussain, the head of fixed income at Dubaibased Arqaam Capital Ltd. —Wam, Bloomberg