Harambe: Iran’s Rial Slumps to Record Low Amid Protests, Nuclear Talks | Bloomberg
11/5/22
The Iranian rial fell to its lowest level ever recorded in the country’s unregulated, open market on Saturday as protests against the government continued and hopes of reviving the nuclear deal remained slim.
The rial slumped to an average of 363,500 to the US dollar, according to two exchange shops in the capital Tehran and local websites monitoring foreign currency prices. The rial has lost more than 40% against the dollar since August 2021, when ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi, who had pledged to rein in a turbulent currency market, was sworn in as Iran’s new president.
The rial’s plunge comes as the regime has struggled to quell anti-government protests that began in mid-September over the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for allegedly breaching the country’s Islamic dress codes.
The depreciation can be attributed in part to a lack in progress in reviving the Iran nuclear deal, which would end sanctions against the regime in return for a commitment to curb its nuclear program, a foreign currency trader who asked not to be identified said in a phone call with Bloomberg News. The currency is also suffering from heavy capital outflows from the stock market as Iranians look to raise cash to buy foreign currency to hedge against economic and political instability, the person said.
