KTFA:

Clare:  The Iraqi market decides to launch trading on construction bonds

3/10/2024    Baghdad

The Iraq Stock Exchange decided to launch trading on reconstruction bonds starting from March 19.

A source in the Iraq Stock Exchange told Al-Eqtisad News that the construction bonds will be traded starting from the Tuesday session, March 19, 2024, and will be in two denominations: 500 thousand dinars, with an interest of 6%, and one million dinars, with an interest of 8%.

He added that the second issuance of reconstruction bonds will be launched for trading in the Wednesday session, March 27, 2024.   LINK

Clare:  With its rise locally… Iraq’s gold reserves were revealed

3/10/2024

 The economic advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, revealed the size of the Iraqi gold reserve at the Central Bank of Iraq.

Saleh told {Al-Furat News} agency, “There should be a distinction between fundamentally imported commercial gold and monetary gold, which is an integral part of the country’s foreign reserves, as monetary gold falls within the diversification of the monetary authority’s investment portfolio, and the numbers indicate that it exceeds 132 tons of monetary gold and within the safe range of reserves.” foreign to the country.

He added, “As for commercial gold, it is regulated by a law and instructions that are subject to the controls of commercial systems and the gold marking law, which the Central Agency for Standardization and Quality Control undertakes to mark and protect gold assets supplied to the country as national wealth.”

Local markets in Baghdad are witnessing an increase in gold prices, as the selling price of a gram (the mithqal) reached 465 thousand dinars.

An economist, Salah Nouri, revealed the reasons for the rise in gold prices.
Nouri told Al-Furat News, “What is happening at the present time in terms of the increase in gold jewelry is the result of an increase in demand for it. When the demand for it increases, its price increases, and so far this is economically logical.”

Nouri added, “But more importantly, why has the demand for gold jewelry increased at the present time? I think that the citizen tends to save in it instead of the dollar, and this is a weak reason. It is more likely that traders speculating in the dollar are turning to gold instead of the dollar for reasons of speculation or smuggling, because Individual citizens’ need for gold jewelry is limited to special occasions.”

Meanwhile, an informed source told {Al-Furat News} that one of the reasons for the rise in gold prices was due to “citizens’ weak confidence in banks,” so they withdrew the amounts deposited in banks and turned to gold.”

Raghad Dahham   LINK

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