Militia Man Article – The private Iraqi banks association met…They’ve made a decision to stay focused on using electronic payments for even the gas stations. One of the things that’s going to take care of is extracting small category notes off the street…It’s working, citizens are opening accounts…
Frank26 Question: “In the past you said if the dinar comes out at $3.22 you’ll dump all your dinar in one shot. Do you still believe that?” Yeah, because look at my age…This December 20th I’ll be 69. At my age, if it comes out at $3 something, shoot I’m going to exchange all of it because at my age I don’t want to wait another year or two to watch it go up. Why should I gamble for it to go into the four, five or whatever range. I’m happy with three something. I’m ecstatic with $3 something because I make money with money. I don’t ‘use’ money. If you don’t understand that statement then you might be in trouble with your stewardship…
MarkZ [via PDK] They have a “cut sheet” in banks and stores showing these [500 and 250 dinar notes]. These bills were printed in 2018 by DelaRue. They have been preparing for this for many years.
Nader I would not be flying to Iraq to make the exchange. I’ll be flying out Iraq to make the change. I’ll go there, pick up some money and come back [to U.S]. That’s what I will do.
Sandy Ingram For those of you who can travel to Iraq, it is best to deal with your money matters in Baghdad or Erbil…When the currency increases in value, some of you may decide you want to travel to Iraq and it’s not a big deal. Wrong! It is a big deal. Yes, you see YouTubers traveling through Iraq but it’s not that simple. The moment you enter the country with a U.S. passport your life can change instantly…The threat of terrorism, armed conflict, kidnapping and violent crime – This is the State Department’s Standard comment in travel warnings. What the State Department is really saying is if you get into trouble we do not have the resources or the network of people to get you out of trouble. This is why [we] recommend US citizens to not travel to Iraq.
MarkZ [Post 1 of 2] [via PDK] I have a number of confirmations with people on the ground in Iraq that they are seeing some lower denominations in Iraq. They are seeing $500’s and $250’s…they have suddenly released a large number of them into the market. They are functionally pretty useless right now. With the current pricing right now of the dinar, the $250 dinar note is worth about .19 cents US. The $500 note is worth about .38 cents US. Why would they suddenly release into circulation so many of these bills? Why do you need a bunch of notes only worth .19 Cents? You don’t.
MarkZ [Post 2 of 2] [via PDK] Doesn’t it make a great bridge…a functional currency when the rate changes? Suddenly it RVs and a $250 notes goes from .19 cents to (lets say ) $25.00? that is a massive change in value. I have some pretty excited folks from Iraq who say “this is it” and now all they have to do is release the even smaller notes which they already have… There is no reason to release those notes unless a revaluation was happening soon. And they expect it to be done on or before Victory Day [December 10]. This $250 note being released should have you all excited.
Pimpy Real Effective Exchange Rate – that is not the nominal exchange rate that we see. The one we watch is called a nominal exchange rate. We get 1307 dinar for every dollar…What is a Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER)? The weighted average of a county’s currency in relation to an index or basket of other major currencies…It’s making a comparison of goods sold. They’re trying to see if they are competitive against other countries. It’s not the same thing as a nominal exchange rate…an officially announced rate. The Central Bank sets the exchange rate if it is fixed. It doesn’t set the exchange rate if it’s floating, which is determined by supply and demand…One is dealing with good sold and the other is dealing with the actual exchange of one currency for the other.
Clare Article quote: “The monetary position in Iraq is (very excellent) at the present time in terms of controlling inflation and the high adequacy of foreign reserves, which enables the Central Bank to remain stable, defend the exchange rate, and achieve monetary stability, despite the circumstances surrounding the country and the region, indicating that the reserve covers our needs, and this is what distinguishes the Central Bank of Iraq compared to other central banks in the region.”
MarkZ [via PDK] “Parliamentary Finance: The meeting with oil focused on discussing the amendment of an item in the budget” Specifically they are discussing the last sticking point with the HCL. When that is finished – my Iraqi contacts are telling me the HCL will add value to the dinar. It is expected to be finished before Dec. 10th.
Militia Man We all know that once Iraq decides to bring out a real effective exchange rate the parallel market is going to be completely changed 100%. They’ve openly told you by the end of the year they’re going to do that…It seems they’re ready to do it. They stopped the loans early, two weeks in advance.
Frank26 [Iraq boots-on-the-ground report] FIREFLY: Mr Sammy wants to tell you that the day when we stop the currency auction and deal no more in dollars in these auction but all in payout of dinars, it’s either very soon before or right after that of the closing of the auctions we have to see a new rate… FRANK: You’re 100% correct Mr. Sammy. You know what they’re going to do. They’re going to lift the value…Stopping of these auctions will require a new exchange rate…They’re going to stop them on December 31, 2024.
Kaperoni Fitch [an American credit rating agency] Affirms Iraq’s Credit Rating at B- with Stable Outlook.
Wolverine [via Judy Byington] …I’m very, very happy as Christmas is coming much early. That is all I can say. Merry Christmas everyone.
