Gold Reserves Jump: Iraq Exceeds 150 Tons of ‘Cash Gold’
The economic advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, revealed today, Tuesday, a jump in Iraq’s gold reserves after it exceeded 150 tons of gold.
Saleh told that: “The cash gold in Iraq’s foreign reserves constitutes a percentage that may not exceed 10% to 11% of the total investment portfolio management of those reserves.”
He added, “This percentage is usually determined by the standard guidelines issued by the International Monetary Fund on how to manage the optimal sovereign investment portfolios according to risk management and their distribution between liquid and semi-liquid assets and official cash gold.
” Saleh explained, “The latest information indicated that our country’s balance of official cash gold may have exceeded the barrier of 150 tons of pure gold.”
Gold prices rose slightly on Tuesday, but remained hovering around the lowest level in a month, while investors await US economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials for more clarity on the path of interest rates.
Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,624.17 per ounce after recording its lowest level since October 10 on Monday. U.S. gold futures gained 0.5 percent to $2,630.10.
The dollar held near a four-month high as bets on President-elect Donald Trump’s policies continued to weigh. A stronger dollar makes gold less attractive to holders of other currencies.
Among other precious metals, spot silver was little changed at $30.70 an ounce. Platinum fell about 0.2 percent to $962.80, while palladium was steady at $980.34.
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What did Iraq achieve in its meetings with the US Treasury, and did it succeed in controlling the sale of the dollar?
The Central Bank of Iraq announced progress in monitoring procedures for foreign transfers and sales operations. Dollar Monetary and providing protection to the banking and financial sector from the risks of money laundering operations, following the ongoing discussions of the Central Bank Iraqi With the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury.
The bank’s governor, Ali Al-Alaq, said in press statements that “the ongoing quarterly meetings with the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury Department, within the framework of organizing operations and coordination between the two sides, which have close relations, led to…The agreement on procedures and formulas that are consistent with best practices and standards. International The latest was the plan to organize foreign transfer operations by rebuilding them according to new standards and methods.”
Al-Alaq stressed that “Iraq has achieved 95% progress in terms of monitoring procedures for foreign transfers and currency sales operations. “Dollar Cash and provide protection to the banking and financial sector from the risks of money laundering operations.
In July 2023, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on 14 banks, and months before that, similar sanctions were imposed on 4 other Iraqi banks after they were accused of money laundering.
The Iraqi government continues through the Central Bank Iraqi It has been negotiating for about two years with the US Treasury Department to lift sanctions on these banks, all of which are private banks.
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Economist reveals reasons for continued rise in dollar price
Economic expert Safwan Qusay confirmed today, Tuesday, that the dealings of some Iraqi traders with the sanctioned markets contributed to increasing the demand for the dollar in the informal market.
Qusay said in an interview with Al-Maalouma Agency that “controlling the dollar exchange rate is the responsibility of the Central Bank of Iraq,” noting that “the Central Bank provides the dollar at the official price to all remittances and external financial credits, provided that this request is legitimate.”
He added, “There is still room to attract legitimate requests from within the informal market to the platform or international correspondent banks directly.”
He continued, “Iraq’s consumption of goods must be determined and it is possible to know the goods that are consumed domestically but do not enter the platform in order to organize import licenses in a way that does not allow the request for dollars from the informal market.”
He pointed out that “the Ministry of Finance pledged to control the border crossings and not allow the entry of goods outside the framework of the crossings, in addition to the rest of the ministries that pledged to increase the capacity of local production in order to reduce import operations.”
He pointed out that “the exchange rate requires cooperation between the financial, monetary and production authorities in order to be able to control it in local markets,” noting that “the dealings of some Iraqi traders with the sanctioned markets contributed to increasing the demand for the dollar in the informal market.”
