Iran plans to reduce use of dollar in trade

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Dec 6: Iran, the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, plans to reduce its use of the US dollar in world trade and increase use of the euro, two Tehran-based newspapers reported.

The Tehran Times said on Wednesday Iran has started substituting euros for dollars in oil sales, citing an unidentified person at the oil ministry. Iran Daily reported Iran wants to cut its dollar-based transactions to a minimum, citing minister of economy Davoud Danesh-Ja’fari. Iran’s policy of selling oil in US dollars ‘‘has not changed yet,’’ said Hojatollah Ghanimifard, executive director for international affairs at National Iranian Oil Co., in a statement read to Bloomberg News from his office.

The US and several European nations are pushing the United Nations to sanction Iran for its nuclear programme.

The dollar touched a 20-month low against the euro this week, and central banks in the Middle East including the United Arab Emirates have plans to convert some of their dollar reserves into euros. Exporting nations ‘‘are only holding so many dollars because of all the trade in the currency, but if the trend begins to move out of it, then it’s going to be a positive for the euro and add to the negative sentiment on the dollar,’’ said David Mann, a foreign-exchange strategist at Standard Chartered Bank Plc in Hong Kong.

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries members including Qatar earlier this week expressed concern about the falling dollar, saying output should be cut to drive prices higher.