An economic expert revealed a new reason behind the rise in the dollar exchange rate against the dinar.

Bassem Jamil Antoine told Al Furat News Agency, “Regarding the rise in the dollar exchange rate and its remaining at its current rates in the parallel market, it is the result of forces “behind the curtain” or what is known as the “hidden state” of speculators and traders, as they are the ones trying to keep prices at these rates.”

He considered the government measures “weak in the face of these speculators and currency traders, as they were unable to limit the rise in exchange rates because of them and their actions and their possession of power, strength and money, and they are the ones who determine prices,” according to him.

Jamil believed that “as long as these hidden parties exploit the country, the exchange rates will remain the same.”

It is noteworthy that the dollar exchange rate in the local markets (parallel) is recorded at about 1,490 dinars, a large difference from the official price sold by the Central Bank of Iraq, which is 1,320 dinars.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Aq, announced on August 7 that “there is no intention to reconsider the dollar exchange rates,” noting that “the Central Bank sells more than 250 million dollars daily at the official price {1,320 dinars}.”

He said, “The view that the dollar price has risen or fallen is not a correct indicator.”   

More than $275 million in sales from the Central Bank of Iraq today

 Economic Number of readings: 206  Baghdad/ NINA / The Central Bank of Iraq’s dollar sales, on Monday, amounted to more than $275 million in the currency auction.

According to a statement by the bank, it sold $275,296,899 in today’s auction, covering it at a basic exchange rate of 1,310 dinars per dollar for documentary credits and international settlements for electronic cards, and for foreign transfers, and at a rate of 1,305 dinars per dollar in cash.

He added: “Most of the dollar sales went to strengthen balances abroad in the form ofalmost ready with one transfers and credits, which amounted to $265,246,899, an increase of 96% over cash sales of $10,050,000.”

He pointed out: “One bank bought cash dollars, while the number of banks that met requests to strengthen balances abroad was 16 banks, and the total number of exchange companies participating in the auction was 11 companies.”

Economist: Government Fails to Secure Necessary Investments to Finance ‘Development Road’

  Construction and reconstruction  Economy News – Baghdad  Economic expert, Ziad Al-Hashemi, revealed on Monday that the government failed to secure the investments required to finance the development road project.

Al-Hashemi stated in a post on his personal Facebook page, followed by “Al-Eqtisad News”, that “the first victim of the failures of the Development Road Project – news of the dismissal of the Director General of the Iraqi Railways, who boasted in one of the meetings with me that he had a feasibility study for the Development Road Project that included 27 volumes.”

He added that “it seems that the internal differences and problems related to the method of managing the Development Road Project file have begun to appear on the surface in the form of dismissals.”

Al-Hashemi stressed that “the government’s failure to secure the necessary investments to finance the project revealed many flaws in the way this project is managed”

and considered that “as a quick and logical solution, the government should focus on extending and establishing the land highway linking with Turkey and postponing the railway line until the conditions are right to truly launch the wheel of development.”

It is noteworthy that the Minister of Transport, Razzaq Muhaibis Al-Saadawi, dismissed the Director General of Railways, Younis Khaled Jawad, and appointed Jabbar Aliwi Lahis as his replacement.

Iraq Dominates List Of UAE Export Destinations

The Vice President of the UAE, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, revealed that Iraq has become a front for Emirati exports during the current year.

Al Maktoum wrote in a post on the X platform that (exports in just 6 months reached what was exported in a whole year before Corona in 2019), adding that (at a time when the global growth rate of foreign trade reached about 1.5 percent, the growth in our foreign trade reached 11.2 percent annually),

stressing (non-oil exports grew by 25 percent, and the goal was to achieve 3 trillion dirhams in non-oil foreign trade by the end of this year), and he continued that (economic relations with various countries have been consolidated, as trade with India increased by 10 percent, with Turkey by 15 percent, and with Iraq by 41 percent, to become the first destination for Emirati exports,

followed by India, Turkey and other countries), stressing that (several years ago we announced our national economic goals, and we confirmed that our foreign trade target for the year 2031 is 4 trillion dirhams annually).  LINK

The Ministerial Council For Economy Discusses Its Agenda And Takes The Necessary Decisions Regarding It

Ministerial Council for Economy  Money and business  Economy News – Baghdad  On Monday, the Ministerial Council for Economy discussed the items on its agenda and took the necessary decisions regarding them.

A statement by the council, seen by “Al-Eqtisad News”, stated that “Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Ministerial Council for the Economy, Fuad Hussein, chaired the twenty-sixth session of the Ministerial Council for the Economy,

which was held in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers building in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Planning, Ministers of Agriculture, Trade, Labor, Social Affairs and Industry, the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, and the Prime Minister’s Advisors for Economic and Legal Affairs.

He discussed the items on his agenda and took the necessary decisions regarding them.”

The statement added that “the council hosted the Mayor of Baghdad to discuss the project to implement the sewage transmission line in the northeastern side of Rusafa (the Khansa line extending from the Habibiya pumping station to the Fadhiliya area on the banks of the Diyala River with the implementation of the lifting station and treatment project)”,

and the council listened to “a briefing presented by the Mayor of Baghdad on the conflicts and problems that hinder the completion of this important project, which serves the people of Rusafa and contributes to treating sewage water and reducing the percentage of pollution in river waters.”

The statement indicated that “the council decided to recommend to the Council of Ministers to approve the request of the Baghdad Municipality to complete the project and stop all legal procedures between the Baghdad Municipality and the implementing company, provided that the project is completed according to high specifications and is subject to examination and auditing by the competent authorities.”

The statement continued, “the council also discussed the integrated package for regulating import trade, and expressed its observations on it and referred it to the specialized committee formed in this regard.” The council also approved “the proposal of the Ministry of Industry after obtaining the approval of the Central Bank of Iraq, so that the export of industrial products is by the manufacturing company or exporting commercial companies.”

The statement concluded, “the council also decided to recommend to the Council of Ministers to approve the minutes of the committee specializing in repaying bad debts owed by the private sector to the Trade Bank of Iraq, by granting the authority to the Board of Directors to reschedule bad debts as well as reduce the interest rate for those who default on payment if they pay the full amount of the debt.”