Analysts said GCC states were particularly vulnerable to a U.S. collapse
as their oil industries charged foreign clients in dollars. Moreover,
unrest, particularly in Bahrain, sparked a massive flight of the U.S.
currency in 2011.
GCC and other Arab oil producers hold $270 billion worth of U.S.
government debt, Middle East Newsline reported. The leading creditors include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates as well as Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Oman
and Qatar.
"The question that has been dogging investors in U.S. paper continues to
haunt the markets," Yazad Darasha, editor of the Arab business Web site,
Zawya, said. "Will the loss of the triple-A rating make most of this paper
worthless?"
The United States has reported a debt of more than $14.5 trillion, $4.5
trillion of which was owed to foreigners. Major credit rating agencies have
already warned that the United States could lose its Triple A status, a
decision that was expected to further damage the American currency.
At this point, analysts said, Gulf investors have not pulled out their
holdings from the United States. They asserted that other currencies,
particularly the euro, were also seen as shaky amid the collapse of the
economy in Greece. China's yuan is not a free-floating currency.
"We believe that the debate on the U.S. public debt ceiling will end
with a compromise before the deadline," the UAE Central Bank said on July
29. "We do not believe that the U.S. government [will] default on its debts,
given its enormous potential."