Iraq buys gold in large quantities.. and an expert reveals the reason
An economic expert revealed the reason behind Iraq’s import of large quantities of gold.
Manar Al-Obaidi said in a statement received by {Euphrates News} that “according to data on exports from countries, specifically the UAE, which has become the largest exporter to Iraq in terms of value, we find that more than 42% of the UAE’s exports to Iraq are gold.”
He explained that “the main reason for importing these quantities is due to its use as an alternative to the dollar in trade exchange with some countries that are prohibited from dealing with banks, and as a result of the lack of cash dollars in the markets, it is replaced by importing gold from outside Iraq, and then trade is carried out using this metal.”
He pointed out that “the expected value of gold from the UAE until the end of 2024 will be between 12-18 billion dollars, in addition to mobile phones, the volume of their exports from the UAE alone ranges between 6-8 billion dollars.”
Al-Obaidi continued, “There are approximately 20-24 billion dollars in goods that are imported, which are not used for local consumption, but are reused in foreign trade exchanges.”
He pointed out that “inflation rates in Iraq have decreased to less than 3% as a result of the ability to import goods from various entities that are prohibited from dealing with banks using gold and mobile phones.”
He stressed that “the hedge that citizens are looking for for their savings in times of crisis tends to buy gold instead of keeping the local currency and also the disappearance of the cash dollar from the market.”
The economic expert said, “As a result, Iraq has no alternative except by establishing an electronic clearing system between it and the countries that are prohibited from dealing with banks, and then there will be no need for these complex mechanisms to cover trade exchange without the need to go through the global banking system and the inability to cover imports from these countries.”
The World Gold Council announced on November 6 that Iraq had raised its gold holdings to more than 152.5 tons.
According to a table published by the council for November 2024, “Iraq ranked 29th out of 100 countries listed in the table with the largest gold reserves,” indicating that “Iraq ranked third in the Arab world after Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.”
He added, “Iraq increased its gold holdings to 152.6 tons, after it had held 152.5 tons, which represents 11.5% of its remaining reserves.”
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Ernst & Young: Rafidain Bank restructuring reached 74%
Ernst & Young, a professional services company, confirmed today, Thursday, that the restructuring of Rafidain Bank has reached 74%.
Firas Kilani, an expert in the restructuring project from the British company, said, “The restructuring project has made great progress since its inception in September 2024 and has currently reached 74%. The next phase of the scope of work will be completed at the end of this month, moving to an advanced stage in this project.”
This came in a statement by the Central Bank received by Shafaq News Agency about the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, chairing an expanded meeting to discuss the project to restructure Rafidain Bank.
The World Bank’s Regional Director in Iraq, Emmanuel Salinas, explained the reality of work on this project, in which he presented the opportunities available within the banking work environment in Iraq and the mechanism for developing the restructuring plan in its operational and financial aspects.
His Excellency the Governor confirmed that the support of the Iraqi Prime Minister in this regard has positively accelerated the progress of the project, to reach important stages in the restructuring and development process at Rafidain Bank.
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Article 12 of the budget ignites a dispute in the Iraqi parliament.. What does it include?
Once again, the Iraqi parliament is in a dispute over the general budget articles. Until now, neither the Finance Committee nor the political blocs have agreed on Article 12, which includes compensating the Kurdistan Regional Government for the costs of production and transportation for extracting oil in the region.
Regarding the details of the article to be amended, the representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party bloc, Jiay Timur, says, “A specialized international company will visit the oil fields in the Kurdistan Region to find out the cost of extracting oil from those fields, according to the amendment to the budget law and the political agreement.”
Timur explained in an interview with Shafaq News Agency, “The Iraqi government previously calculated in the budget law the cost of extraction at $6, and this is a very small number, and foreign companies working on extracting oil say that the cost reaches $26 per barrel.”
He added that “most of the oil fields in the region are in the mountains and rocks, and drilling oil wells reaches thousands of meters, which is very expensive.”
The representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party bloc continued, “The Iraqi government included in the amendment to the budget law $16 for the cost of extracting a barrel of oil in the Kurdistan Region.”
For his part, member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Moeen Al-Kadhimi, told Shafaq News Agency, “The Parliamentary Finance Committee held a meeting this afternoon to discuss amending the General Budget Law, and that the amendment includes Article 12 of the law only.”
He pointed out that “the Finance Committee held a meeting with officials in the Ministry of Oil, considering that it is a technical body concerned with that, and also requested a meeting with the Minister of Finance, but unfortunately the Minister did not attend.”
Al-Kadhimi also indicated that “the Parliamentary Finance Committee submitted a request to the Presidency of the Council of Representatives to withdraw the amendment to the budget law from the agenda of today’s session, considering that the committee has not completed the observations and discussion on the budget law.”
