Iraq’s cash reserve exceeds 80 billion USD
The branch of the central bank of Iraq in Basrah. Photo: Al-Arabiya
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ammar Khalaf, announced on Sunday that Iraq’s cash reserve rose to more than 80 billion USD and indicated that the gold reserves exceeded 131 tons, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
Khalaf expected that the central bank’s cash reserves will reach 90 billion USD by the end of 2022.
Khalaf also explained that the rise in the reserves of the Central Bank is a result of the increase in oil prices internationally.
In regards to gold reserves, Khalaf pointed out that gold is not increased constantly, but rather over long periods of time.
Khalaf stressed that 30 tons were added to Iraq’s gold reserves, making the total gold reserve of the country exceeds 131 tons.
Earlier in August, the spokesperson for the Central Bank of Iraq, Omar Essam, indicated that Iraq possesses 130 tons of gold, and is among the countries with the largest gold reserves.
Essam also explained that Iraq is now ranked the 30th globally and the fourth in the Arab world in terms of gold reserves.