IQD value rapidly deteriorates

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The price of the US dollar in the local markets reached 1,300 Iraqi dinars, compared to 1220 dinars in mid-March and represents a significant reduction of the Iraqi dinar’s value since the two last years.

It is known that the official price of the USD until this day, according to the Central Bank of Iraq is IQD 1166 and that means that the value of the Iraqi dinar has reduced more than 11%.

According to representatives of Iraqi News (IraqiNews.com), this decline has led to increasing prices for a lot of goods in local markets and especially the imported ones.

The central bank has promised to take measures to stabilize the value of the dinar as it was in the past, but the degradation rate of the dinar continued for up to 1,300 dinars per dollar.

Employees and retirees who receive their salaries in dinars complain of price inflation since their salaries are no longer sufficient to meet their needs and that the rise in prices has included real estate and rentals, as well as transportation, food and clothing.

Many believe that the growing demand to buy the dollar from local markets has led to this significant decline in the price of the dinar.

This is attributed to smuggling the USD sold daily by the Central Bank of Iraq to Syria and Iran, which face financial sanctions and their growing need to hard currency.

The Iraqi Central Bank announced short period before new measures to restrict the availability of U.S. currency in markets, amid suspicions over possibility of smuggling large amounts of hard currency from Iraq for neighboring countries.