The dollar’s slide has caused concern among oil producers as it pushes down the value of their dollar-denominated oil revenues while the price of their commodity imports, such as grains, have been increasing.

When asked whether the drop in the US dollar was pressuring Gulf Arab states to consider other solutions for their currencies, such as dropping the peg, Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah told reporters on the sidelines of a conference he did not expect such a move.

“In reality we do not think so... I do not think matters will reach this stage of thinking,” he said.

Kuwait’s finance minister said on Saturday the weak US dollar is not a concern for Gulf economies.

The dollar hit an 11-month low against a basket of currencies earlier this week.

Kuwait, unlike its fellow Gulf oil producers, abandoned its currency peg to the dollar in 2007 in favor of a currency basket to rein in then soaring inflation, which is rising again.

A weak dollar also tends to lift oil prices as money shifts from the currency market to commodities in search of better returns.

Attiyah also spoke about the plan for a GCC monetary union, saying he was happy with progress and he hoped the United Arab Emirates would rejoin the project.

The UAE abandoned the plan in May 2009 withdrawing in protest against placing the forerunner of the future joint central bank in Riyadh.

“The Emirates is very important. I consider the Emirates a cornerstone of the Gulf monetary union as the second-largest economy in the Gulf,” said Attiyah.

“We hope that one day Emirates will be part of it,” he said.

Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum said in an interview with CNN in June that rejoining the planned Gulf monetary union was not on the cards. Attiyah added it was too early for Yemen to join the GCC common market, saying the country should focus on joining Gulf organizations that would bring about development including healthcare and education.

“The time has not yet come for Yemen to be part of the common market now,” he said in a meeting at the conference.

The impoverished Arab state is battling with Islamist group Al-Qaeda and clashes with separatists in the south.