Iraqi foreign reserves to exceed 90 billion USD by end of 2022
The Central Bank of Iraq. Asharq Al-Awsat image.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Minister of Finance Ali Allawi stated on Wednesday that the continuous recovery of oil prices is expected to increase the reserves of the Central Bank of Iraq to more than 90 billion USD by the end of 2022, which represents a record level for Iraq, according to the Iraq News Agency (INA).
Allawi added that the prudent financial management and the recovery of oil prices helped the reserves to become 70 billion USD last April.
Allawi elaborated that the depreciation of the Iraqi dinar against the US dollar in December 2020 contributed to the decrease in demand for the US dollar, while the current demand for the US dollar is higher than the decreases witnessed in 2020, but it is much lower than the period before 2020.
The Iraqi Finance Minister explained that the continuation of sales made by the Ministry of Finance in US dollar reflects the increase in oil revenues, and in the goods and services provided to citizens by the government.
Allawi confirmed that the increase in sales made by the Ministry of Finance in US dollar as well as the decrease in demand for the US dollar will lead to an increase in foreign currency reserves in the Central Bank of Iraq.