The report, released by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on 7 July, said: “Fiscal and monetary authorities remain reluctant to undertake such a move [a one-off revaluation], given that it reduces the value of oil exports and foreign reserve assets and, moreover, that it further complicates monetary integration.”

In addition to suggesting that currency reform was unlikely, the report also said that the region's inflation problem, coupled with Oman’s decision to pull out of the single currency and Kuwait’s move to peg the dinar to a basket of currencies, all threatened the 2010 deadline for currency reform.