CBI’s US dollar sales surpass $4 billion in April
The new headquarters of the Central Bank of Iraq in Baghdad. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Central Bank of Iraq’s (CBI) foreign currency auction sales surpassed four billion dollars during April.
The CBI sold in April during its auctions for buying and selling the US currency, $4,348,889,811, with an average daily rate of $241,604,989.
The CBI’s remittances abroad reached $4,039,874,811, representing an increase of 92 percent compared to cash sales, which exceeded $309 million, according to Shafaq News.
The CBI’s US dollar sales varied between transfers abroad to finance foreign trade and cash sales to banks.
Iraq’s Central Bank sold US dollars at an exchange rate of 1305 Iraqi dinars for letters of credit and international settlements for debit and credit cards, and at an exchange rate of 1310 Iraqi dinars for remittances abroad.
In January 2024, the CBI started imposing restrictions on cash withdrawals in US dollars to stop the abuse of its hard currency reserves in financial crimes and the violation of US sanctions on Iran.
The step also aims to limit the use of foreign currency and boost Iraqi dinar transactions in the Iraqi economy.
The CBI is the primary source of foreign currencies for various transactions in the country, and the bank provides an electronic platform for importers, traders, citizens, and investors to carry out foreign transfers with the aim of controlling the dinar’s exchange rate against the dollar and eliminating the parallel market.