“Revaluation of domestic currencies ... is still an option on the table for central bank governors in the Gulf countries,” the London-based al-Hayat newspaper quoted Sultan Nasser al-Suweidi as saying.

But “the decision not to de-link Gulf currencies to the US dollar is final,” he said.

Suweidi said on Dec. 5 he would leave the UAE dirham’s peg unchanged for the “foreseeable future” after Gulf rulers agreed the day before to keep any currency-reform talk secret to calm markets.

Suweidi said last month he was under growing social and economic pressure to drop the peg and instead track a currency basket, including the euro.