Bahrain's central bank governor said on Tuesday Gulf Arab oil producers were unlikely to set a new deadline this year for monetary union, although he reaffirmed that the 2010 target date would be 'difficult'.

Rasheed al-Maraj also said inflation in the Gulf Arab state, which pegs its currency to the US dollar, was not particularly linked to dollar weakness.

Bahrain, the smallest Gulf Arab economy, would likely expand 6.5 per cent this year and between 6 and 7 per cent next year, Maraj added.-Reuters