Thursday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 2-2-23
A Financial Expert Warns The Central Bank Of Resorting To Storing The Local Currency Because Of The Repercussions Of The Dollar
A financial expert warned of the repercussions of the central bank resorting to cash storage from the local currency to compensate for any currency shortage in the markets.
The expert, Mahmoud Dagher, said in a press interview seen by “Takadam” that “the local currency is provided through the continuation of the process of deliberation and commercial exchange within the markets, which goes hierarchically from the merchant to the central bank to buy the dollar, and then the local monetary mass goes from the bank to the Ministry Financial to be distributed as salaries and financial dues for employees or others who have dues from the state.
Dagher explained that “the Central Bank today sells the dollar in a currency auction at very low rates, which means that the bank’s storage of the local currency will be limited, which will put the Ministry of Finance in a difficult position regarding paying employees’ salaries and other financial obligations,” noting that “the bank’s resort to storage From the dinar and paying it to the Ministry of Finance will have negative consequences, most notably an increase in inflation rates.
After The Dollar’s Jump To More Than 170,000.. Security Raids, Stock Exchanges And Exchanges Stopped Trading
Today, 12:49 |Baghdad today – Baghdad An informed source revealed, today, Thursday, that most of the exchange offices in the capital, Baghdad, and the provinces, as well as the stock exchanges, have stopped working after a series of security raids.
The source told (Baghdad Today) that “the security forces carried out raids on a number of exchange offices in the capital, Baghdad, and the provinces, in addition to the stock exchanges, against the background of manipulating the exchange rates of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar.”
He added that “the banking offices closed their doors for fear of security prosecution, especially in light of the continued high exchange rates of the dollar.”
And he continued, “The stoppage of the movement of selling dollars in exchanges and stock exchanges came against the background of the exchange rate reaching more than 170,000 dinars for every 100 dollars.”
Earlier, the security services carried out raids on a number of exchange offices in Baghdad, to pursue manipulators of dollar exchange rates, which resulted in the arrest of a number of speculators in the market.
Since November 2022, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar has witnessed a gradual increase, reaching its highest levels in recent days, as it crossed the barrier of 170,000 dinars per 100 dollars. LINK
Financial Expert Mahmoud Dagher Issues A Warning About Local Currency Storage
2023/02/02 Baghdad – Iraq today: A financial expert warned of the repercussions of the Central Bank of Iraq resorting to cash storage from the local currency to compensate for any currency scarcity in the markets.
The expert, Mahmoud Dagher, said in a press interview followed by (Iraq Today), that “providing the local currency takes place through the continuation of the process of deliberation and commercial exchange within the markets, which goes hierarchically from the merchant to the central bank to buy dollars, and then the local monetary mass goes from the bank to the Ministry of Finance, to be distributed as salaries and financial dues for employees or others who have dues from the state.
Dagher explained that “the Central Bank sells the dollar today in a currency auction at very low rates, which means that the bank’s storage of the local currency will be limited, which will put the Ministry of Finance in a difficult position regarding paying employee salaries and other financial obligations,” noting that “the bank’s resort to hoarding From the dinar, and paying it to the Ministry of Finance will have negative consequences, most notably an increase in inflation rates. LINK
A Deputy Stresses The Need To Hold Manipulators Accountable At Dollar Exchange Rates And Invites Relations
Posted On2023-02-02 By Sotaliraq The representative of the Sadikoun parliamentary bloc, Mahasen Al-Dulaimi, called on Wednesday, the governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alaq, to take serious steps to address the high exchange rate of the dollar.
Al-Dulaimi said in a statement, “The rise in the exchange rate of the dollar was reflected in turn on the economic situation in the country, and caused a rise in the prices of basic materials and commodities in the local market, which negatively affected the situation of the Iraqi citizen, so the governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alaq, must take urgent steps to address this issue.” Height”.[/size]
She added, “A real solution must be found for the mechanism for granting banking licenses, as well as giving confidence to merchants to deal directly with the Central Bank without mediation, in order to control the economic reality and the movement of the dollar within the country.”[/size]
And she stressed “the need to tighten deterrent measures against manipulators of dollar exchange rates, and to carry out daily security campaigns to follow them up. LINK
Al-Sudani And Al-Abadi Are Looking For “Effective Solutions” To Control The Dollar Prices
2023-02-01 Shafaq News/ The Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’a al-Sudani, and the head of the Victory Coalition, Haider al-Abadi, discussed, on Wednesday, finding “effective solutions” to control the dollar prices in the local markets.
This comes at a time when the dollar exchange rates are recording continuous jumps, approaching 170 thousand dinars per 100 dollars, at a time when the government measures taken by the Sudanese did not succeed in stopping the significant rise in the dollar exchange rate.
A statement from Al-Abadi’s office received by Shafaq News agency stated, “The latter received in his office today, Wednesday, Al-Sudani. During the meeting, the overall political, economic and security conditions were discussed, and the government’s plans to serve citizens and implement its government program, overcoming obstacles and difficulties that stand in front of it, and finding effective solutions to control prices.” The dollar in the local markets, and support the poor classes in the country.
According to the statement, “the importance of unifying the word to move forward in the reconstruction and construction of the country, reform in state institutions, fight corruption, and support the prime minister’s efforts in implementing his program” was also emphasized.
The Iraqi currency lost about 10% of its value, after procedures related to imposing compliance rules on the Central Bank of Iraq’s dealings with currency dealers in relation to the US dollar. LINK
Oil Prices Rise With The Decline Of The Dollar And The Decision Of OPEC +
Energy Economy News _ Baghdad Oil prices rebounded on Thursday, after falling more than 3% in the previous session, as dollar weakness restored some appetite for risky assets and OPEC+’s decision to extend production cuts helped calm oversupply fears.
Brent crude futures rose 65 cents, or 0.8%, at $83.49 a barrel by 03:53 GMT, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 71 cents, or 0.9%, to $77.12 a barrel.
Both benchmarks fell more than 3% overnight after US government data showed big rises in stocks of crude and oil products.
The Fed raised its target interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, but continued to promise “continued increases” in borrowing costs as part of its ongoing fight against inflation.
“Inflation has declined somewhat, but remains high,” the US central bank said in a statement.
The US dollar index fell to a nine-month low on Thursday, in reaction to bets for a weak interest rate hike. A weaker dollar makes dollar-denominated oil less expensive for holders of other currencies, boosting demand.
The OPEC+ committee endorsed the group’s current production policy at Wednesday’s meeting, leaving production cuts agreed last year in place amid hopes of rising Chinese demand and an uncertain outlook for Russian supply.
OPEC+ agreed to cut its production target by two million barrels per day, or about 2% of global demand, from November last year until the end of 2023 to support the market.
https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=32230
Trade Reveals The Fate Of The Ration Card After The Delay In Approving The budget
Money and business Economy News-Baghdad The Ministry of Commerce revealed the fate of the ration card after the delay in approving the budget, and confirmed that no new materials were added to the ration card due to the lack of approval of the budget so far and the limited exchange, and noted the availability of a good balance of it with the preparation of three food baskets.
The official spokesman for the ministry, Muhammad Hanoun, said in a statement to the official newspaper, “There is support from Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’a al-Sudani to the ministry to supply the items of the food basket on a regular basis among citizens, indicating that the ministry’s entry into the commercial sector aims to prevent monopoly and not affect the citizen by crises.”
Hanoun referred to “the formation of a crisis cell headed by the Minister of Commerce and the membership of agents and directors of companies to set up a mechanism and controls for entry within the commercial sector and to conduct large contracts with solid originators with regard to food and construction materials and display them in the local markets.”
And he indicated that “the ministry has a good balance of the wheat crop during the current year, and nearly 150,000 tons were recently imported from Australia.”
He stressed, “Not adding new foodstuffs to the ration card, because the matter is related to the general budget, which has not been released yet.” https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=32235
