United Arab Emirates Central Bank governor Sultan Nasser Al-Suweidi said on Thursday that oil prices could fall to a range of $60 to $80 per barrel, from over $119 now.

Al-Suweidi, who was speaking to a Japanese official at a public event, did not offer a time frame for the possible price fall and cautioned that predicting oil prices was "difficult and dangerous".
    
He said there were more reasons for countries to maintain their currency pegs to the dollar now that the US currency was strengthening.

The Gulf Cooperation Council states would pursue monetary union in stages despite difficult challenges to the long-standing plan, he said.

"Monetary union will be implemented in stages ... the last of which will be the most difficult," Suweidi said.

The UAE economy continued to grow despite a slowdown in global growth, he said.