Qatari riyal slips to 11-year low against dollar in spot market

The Qatari riyal fell to an 11-year low against the U.S. dollar in the spot market in late trade on Wednesday due to concern about the long-term economic impact on Qatar of its diplomatic rift with other Gulf Arab states.

The dollar was bid at 3.6517 riyals, its highest level since July 2005, according to Thomson Reuters data. The riyal is pegged at 3.64 to the dollar by the central bank, which only allows small fluctuations around this level.

The riyal remained steady at a premium of 250 points to the dollar in the one-year forwards market, which banks use to hedge against future moves in the spot rate.

A Qatari central bank official told Reuters on Tuesday that Qatar had huge foreign reserves which it could use to support its currency if necessary.