India's Prime Minister is bullish on the greenback and the U.S. economy

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh threw his support behind the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency and took an upbeat view of the U.S. economy in an interview on CNN's Sunday talk show GPS.

The statements come as Singh prepares for a state dinner hosted by President Obama in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday -- and in the wake of India's $6.7 billion gold purchase from the International Monetary Fund earlier in the month. The 200-metric-ton purchase made India the ninth-largest holder of gold reserves in the world and set off speculation that other governments may also seek to diversify from dollar-based assets.