Iraq Economic News 5-22-2024
The Central Bank Announces Approved Dollar Sales Outlets For Pilgrims
Economy News _ Baghdad Today, Wednesday, the Central Bank of Iraq announced outlets for selling dollars to pilgrims.
The bank said in a statement received by Al-Iqtisad News, “The outlets for selling the dollar to pilgrims are in the branches of Al-Rashid, Al-Rafidain, Al-Iraqi Trade, and Al-Nasik banks, in addition to a number of money exchangers in Baghdad and a number of governorates.” https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=43639
What Are The Reasons For The World Bank’s Demand To Reform The Retirement System In Iraq?.. Economic Clarification
Posted On05-22-2024 By Sotaliraq Economist Nabil Al-Marsoumi explained the reasons for the World Bank’s demand to reform the retirement system in Iraq.
Al-Marsoumi said in a blog post, “According to data from the General Retirement Directorate, the total number of civilian and military retirees in Iraq in 2020 reached 2.486 million retirees, while the number of retirees who receive their salaries from the retirement fund reached 544 thousand retirees.”
He pointed out that “the budget bears the disbursement of the salaries of 1.942 million retirees,” noting that “the total value of the monthly salaries of retirees amounts to 1.551 trillion dinars, and the annual value is 18.612 trillion dinars.”
He stated that “the total annual pension salaries borne by the general budget are 11.772 trillion dinars in 2020, while 6.840 trillion dinars are paid from the retirement fund.”
He stressed that “today’s numbers have risen a lot, especially since 120,000 employees annually are referred to retirement after reducing the retirement age to 60 years,” noting that “retirement referrals before 1/1/2008 are all paid from the public treasury according to the laws of transitional justice, political dismissals, and all others.”
Laws legislated by the House of Representatives. As for those referred to retirement after 1/1/2008, their salaries are paid from the Retirement Fund, while retirement rewards are paid from the state treasury.”
He continued, “The government depends, in its financing of pensioners’ salaries and all other forms of social protection programs, on financial resources financed by oil revenues, which exposes it to delaying or even to the risk of stopping due to the fluctuation of these revenues, especially linked to highly volatile global oil prices, due to external rather than internal factors on the one hand, and low efficiency in Managing the funds of the pension fund, which lacks transparency in disclosing its assets and aspects of its investments, on the other hand.” LINK
Referring The 2024 Budget Tables To Parliamentary Finance
Money and business Economy News – Baghdad Today, Wednesday, the House of Representatives announced the referral of the schedules of the Federal General Budget Law 2024 to the Parliamentary Finance Committee.
According to a document issued by the Council, seen by Al-Iqtisad News, “Acting Speaker of the House of Representatives Mohs Al-Mandalawi referred the schedules of the Federal General Budget Law 2024 to the Parliamentary Finance Committee.” –
Raq Intends To Deliver The Capacity Of The Northern Refineries To 600 Thousand Barrels Per Day
Reconstruction and building Economy News – Baghdad The Northern Refineries Company, affiliated with the Ministry of Oil, announced today, Wednesday, the total refining capacity of the Northern refineries, while indicating the continued development of the refineries and raising them to the ranks of international companies.
The director of the project management department at the company, Ata Aliwi Hussein Al-Hamdani, said: “The Northern Refineries Company is witnessing a major renaissance and development that will place it among the major refinery companies in the Middle East, as the cadres of the Project Management Department, the Maintenance Authority, and the company’s supporting departments have begun establishing Refining Unit 3 at the Salah al-Din Refinery.”
To be the nucleus of the Salah al-Din Refinery 3, which will be added to the company’s refinery complex with a capacity of 70,000 barrels per day,” indicating that “a new refining capacity will be added to the current basic refining capacities existing in the company.”
Al-Hamdani added, “Salah al-Din Refinery 1 will have a refining capacity of 70,000 barrels per day, Salah al-Din Refinery 2 will have a refining capacity of 70,000 barrels per day, while the North Refinery will have a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day, and the small refining units 2 and 3 in the North Refinery will have a capacity of 20.” One thousand barrels per day. It is hoped that these units will enter into trial operation this year. The Salah al-Din 3 refinery will have a capacity of 70 thousand barrels per day. It is hoped that the refining unit will be completed within one year.
Thus, the total capacity of the Al-Samoud Refinery Complex during the coming year will be approximately 380 thousand barrels per day. “
He continued: “As for the company’s external refineries, the Project Management Department, under the guidance of the Director General of the Northern Refineries Company, continues to implement the company’s plan to raise refining capacities during the current and next years.”
He explained, “The current capacity of the Kirkuk refinery is 56 thousand barrels, and after the completion of concentration unit 109, it will be 76 thousand barrels per day, while the current capacity of the Siniya refinery is 30 thousand barrels per day, and after the completion of the two new units, the refining capacity will be 50 thousand barrels per day, and the current capacity of the Haditha refinery is It reaches 16 thousand barrels,
and after completing the two new units, the refining capacity will be 36 thousand barrels per day, and the Kasak refinery has a current capacity of 20 thousand barrels per day, and after completing the new unit, the refining capacity will be 30 thousand barrels per day.
As for the Qayyarah refinery, the available refining capacity will reach approximately 12 thousand barrels per day. After completing the new unit, the refining capacity will be 32 thousand barrels per day,” noting that “the refining capacity of the current and added external refineries will be 204 thousand barrels per day.”
He pointed out that “the total refining capacity of the current and added North Refineries Company will be 584 thousand barrels per day, which is an unprecedented refining capacity in the field of the refinery sector, with the addition of complementary units such as hydrogenation, isomerization and improvement of gasoline units, energy units, technical services, pumping and storage units, industrial water transactions, and others, with modernization projects.” Units, infrastructure, residential complexes, investment units and refineries.”
He stated that “the Northern Refineries Company has also begun preparing the requirements for establishing the FCC unit, which is a unit consisting of four basic units to maximize the production of improved gasoline and intermediate distillates. This unit works on the fuel oil or black oil remaining in the refining tower produced by the company’s refineries,”
pointing out that we We seek to implement all plans and programs to raise refining capacities, modernize and develop the company’s refineries, and elevate it to the ranks of major international companies in the refinery sector in Iraq and the Middle East.”
Oil Prices Decline Amid Expectations That Interest Rates Will Remain High For A Longer Period
Wednesday 22, May 2024 08:08 | Economical Number of readings: 140 Baghdad / NINA / Oil prices fell for the third session in a row today, Wednesday, amid expectations that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) will keep interest rates high for a longer period due to continued inflation, which may affect fuel use in the world’s largest oil consumer.
Brent crude futures fell 43 cents, or 0.5%, to $82.45 per barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 50 cents, or 0.6%, to $78.16.
US Central Bank officials said yesterday, Tuesday, that the bank must wait several more months to ensure that inflation actually returns to the target path of 2% before any interest rate cuts.
Oil prices fell yesterday, Tuesday, as investors expected that inflation and continued interest hikes in the United States would lead to a decline in consumer and industrial demand.
Yesterday, Tuesday, Brent crude futures contracts fell by 46 cents, equivalent to 0.55%, to $83.25 per barrel by 07:28 GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 55 cents, or 0.69%, to $79.25 a barrel. Both benchmarks fell less than 1% on Monday after US Federal Reserve (central bank) officials said they were waiting for more signs of slowing inflation before considering lowering interest rates./Ends 9
https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?key=1128035
Provoking Thoughts and Points to Ponder on Money
Inflation is determined by money supply growth. – Roger Bootle
Laws go where dollars please. – Portuguese proverb
Money can’t buy friends, but you can get a better class of enemy. – Spike Milligan
Money is not an aphrodisiac: the desire it may kindle in a female eye is more for the cash than the carrier. – Marya Marines
Money is the fruit of evil as often as the root of it. – Henry Fielding
Money, like a queen, gives rank and beauty . – Latin proverb
http://www.famousquotesandauthors.com/topics/money_quotes.html
