Wednesday Morning Itraq Economic News Highlights 2-1-23
Al-Sudani Calls On Citizens Not To Acquire The Dollar And Confirms That The Iraqi Dinar Is The Strongest And We Will Return The Exchange To Its Official Rate
By Moahmmad EditorIraq news The Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, confirmed that the government will return the exchange rate of the dollar to what it was, calling on citizens not to own the dollar because “the dinar is stronger.”
The Prime Minister, Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani, said that exchange rate fluctuations are not a decision of the government, parliament, or the central bank, as happened when the exchange rate was raised in 2020 by a decision of the government and the approval of Parliament.
He explained, in an interview with Al-Iraqiya TV, that international standards and the relationship between the Central Bank with the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury, to control the movement of money, which merchants find difficult to work with, led to a rise in the exchange rate.
The Iraqi markets are witnessing a crisis after the decline in the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar against the US dollar to below the rate set by the Central Bank of Iraq, which led to confusion in the market, and fears among citizens of a further rise in the price of the dollar, despite the Iraqi government’s assurances that the exchange rate will return to the specified level.
The prime minister pointed out that “currency smuggling was clear and constituted a chronic crisis,” asking: “What has stopped except for the high price of some commodities, even though we sell 30 million dollars while we used to sell 300 million?”
Al-Sudani acknowledged that “the procedures will take time,” adding, “We will certainly return the dollar to its official price, and we will save it, and we will accustom merchants and businessmen to correct and legitimate trade.”
In this context, he referred to weekly meetings held with businessmen who complain of problems with taxes and customs in order to solve the problems they face, and “something that was supposed to happen during the two years that were granted to the Central Bank,” revealing that the agreement between the Central Bank and the Federal And the US Treasury concluded two years ago, without the central bank taking concrete steps to prepare for its implementation.
Regarding what is reported about money smuggling from the Kurdistan Region, he said: “We hear about money smuggling and transferring it to Kurdistan and from there to neighboring countries,” adding that he had spoken with the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government “about money smuggling and the need for cooperation on this file.”
On the discussions with the American side regarding the dollar, he indicated that “a high-level delegation headed by the Foreign Minister will visit Washington on the seventh of February to discuss more than one file, including fluctuations in dollar prices.”
The exchange rate of the dollar in the Iraqi markets and stock exchanges today, Tuesday, reached 1,680 Iraqi dinars per dollar, in a new indication of the growing exchange rate crisis in Iraq despite government promises and recent measures to limit the rise in the exchange rate, resulting primarily from the lack of control over the dollar currency smuggled into the country. Abroad, and thus the US Federal Bank reduced the liquidity sent to the Iraqi government from the dollar currency in exchange for Iraq selling oil.
Al-Sudani denied what was reported about setting a new exchange rate in the budget law, as the government does not want to interfere in monetary policies, adding that “all possibilities are contained in adjusting the exchange rate of the dollar.” https://altahreernews.com/42861/
Al-Karawi: America Is Blackmailing The Government By Fabricating The Dollar Crisis
February 1, 2023 4 Views Conscious / Baghdad Today, Wednesday, the head of the organizing body of the popular movement for the Belt and Road, Hussein Ali Al-Karawi, accused the US side of practicing blackmail against the Iraqi government through the dollar crisis.
Al-Karawi said, in an interview reported by the reporter (Iraqi Media News Agency / INA) , that “America is practicing blackmail on the government in an attempt to keep Iraq from signing economic memorandums of understanding with Germany and China.”
He added, “The United States of America is unable to distance Iraq from China, Russia and Iran, and therefore it found the crisis of the dollar’s rise as a means of putting pressure on the government.”
He pointed out that “the decline in the value of the Iraqi dinar greatly affects the standard of living of the poor and middle classes, and this matter is reflected in the performance of the Sudanese government.”
He called on the national political forces and popular activities to confront the American interventions and pressures that are trying to impose their will and dominance on the Iraqi political decision.”
The exchange rates of the dollar witnessed a new rise in the local markets.
The selling price of the dollar was 167,500 dinars per 100 dollars, while the buying price of the dollar was 167,000 dinars per 100 dollars. https://1-al–iraqinews-com.translate.goog/archives/331067?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_enc=1
An Official Directive To Investment Companies To Adopt The Iraqi Dinar Instead Of The Dollar
2023-02-01 Shafaq News/ Today, Wednesday, the National Investment Commission instructed all investment companies contracting with the commission to build residential complexes to abide by the official dollar exchange rate set by the Central Bank of Iraq, which amounts to 1470 dinars to the dollar.
The official spokesperson for the authority, Hanan Jassim, said in a statement today that the directive came based on Cabinet Resolution No. (23026) for the year 2023, and that the directive stipulated that the companies concerned should take the necessary measures to invest in residential complexes and not demand from citizens registered on the aforementioned housing units. With more than the approved official price, and against it, the necessary legal measures will be taken against the violating companies.
The price of the dollar against the dinar rose in an unprecedented way recently due to the measures imposed by the United States of America to limit currency smuggling from Iraq.
The Central Bank of Iraq announced, on Monday, January 19, a package of decisions that would restore the foreign currency market to its normal position after the rise in it.
The decisions included the following paragraphs:
1- Allowing the banks participating in the foreign currency buying and selling window to purchase any amounts in foreign currency and deposit them with this bank in accounts used for external transfer purposes, and to pay interest / returns on those balances according to what this bank decides.
2- Facilitating the financing of private sector trade through Iraqi banks and meeting the demand for foreign transfers by strengthening the balances of banks with their correspondents in other currencies in addition to the US dollar (Chinese yuan, the euro, the Emirati dirham, the Jordanian dinar, and others).
3- Opening outlets for selling foreign currency in government banks to the public for travel purposes (treatment, Hajj Umrah, study, etc.)
4- Reducing the selling price of the dollar to the beneficiary (the card holder) that he uses while traveling or paying his purchases via the Internet, to be at (1465) dinars to the dollar instead of (1470) dinars to the dollar. The dollar will be sold to electronic payment companies for the above purpose at a price of (1455) dinars to the dollar instead of (1460) dinars to the dollar LINK
Sulaymaniyah.. Dollar Transfers Continue For Less Than 10 Thousand Dollars Internally And Externally
proposals from economy |Today, 14:04 | Baghdad today – Sulaymaniyah Today, Wednesday, the director of the remittance market in the city of Sulaymaniyah, Jabbar Goran, denied stopping remittances in the city’s stock market.
Goran told (Baghdad Today) that “remittances are continuing in the stock market in the city of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region.”
He added that “the transfers that have been stopped are those that amount to more than 10 thousand dollars.”
And the Kurdistan Regional Government had announced, earlier, the suspension of internal and external transfers in Sulaymaniyah Governorate until further notice.
And the Ministry of Finance in the region directed, according to a document that (Baghdad Today) obtained a copy of, that “based on Resolution No. 888 on 6/26/2022, all licensed exchange companies were alerted to prevent the transfer or receipt of funds internally, and that the decision authorizes only those companies to exchange currencies.” Otherwise, those companies will be exposed to the legal issue.” LINK
Aware / An Economist Explains That Decreasing The Dollar Exchange Rate Increases The Budget Deficit
February 1, 2023 4 Views Conscious / Baghdad The economist, Dr. Safwan Qusai, explained that reducing the exchange rate of the dollar from the official rate of 1450 dinars will lead to an increase in the budget deficit for the current year.
“The Minister of Finance has confirmed in a previous statement that the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar will not change, as the dollar will continue to be sold at 1450 for the current year ,” Qusai said in an interview reported by the interviewer. (Iraqi Media News Agency / INA).
He added, “The process of having obligations on the dinar through the employee compensation item or through commodity and service supplies, the process of improving the value of the dinar at this time will cause a kind of additional deficit in the budget.”
And that “fixing the exchange rate is the approach followed with the need to support the poor and fragile classes and those with limited income as a result of high prices for global reasons or as a result of the current depreciation of the dinar due to the lack of a regular commercial market in the current period.”
Washington Receives “Compelling Evidence”… Iran Trades In Iraqi Dollars
2023-02-01 03:30 Shafaq News / A Saudi newspaper revealed, on Wednesday, that the US Treasury Department has obtained compelling evidence that Iran has traded dollars that Iraq recently received from Washington, during the past two weeks.
Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper stated, in a report seen by Shafaq News Agency, that “the Americans feel that Baghdad is dealing with indifference to their recent warnings to Iraqi financial institutions that buy and sell dollars.”
The newspaper pointed out, “The Iraqi government tried to build a European pressure group on the United States to ease its restrictions on dollar sales in Iraq, but Baghdad’s diplomatic channels failed in these efforts.”
It quoted Iraqi sources as saying that “Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani tried to create a (lobby) during his recent visit to Paris and Berlin last month.”
The sources pointed out that the Sudanese government is concerned that the dollar crisis may end with the government’s fall quickly, and that the channels that Al-Sudani chose to persuade the Europeans to help Iraq to put pressure on Washington were weak and traditional.
Another source, who the newspaper said was familiar with the government’s atmosphere, stated that “Al-Sudani’s small team does not include any expert in European affairs, while the employees of the Iraqi embassy in Paris and an unknown businessman were relied on to arrange Al-Sudani’s visit to Paris.” LINK
