US dollar exchange rate drops in Baghdad, Erbil
A man counts wads of US dollars on a money counting machine at a currency exchange shop in Baghdad. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The US dollar exchange rate against the Iraqi dinar declined in Baghdad and Erbil on Sunday evening with the closure of the two main stock exchanges in the country.
The US dollar exchange rate dropped with the closure of Baghdad’s Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges, where the US dollar exchange rate reached 1520 dinars after it was 1523 dinars on Sunday morning.
The exchange rate in currency exchange shops in Baghdad ranged between 1530 dinars and 1510 dinars, Shafaq News reported.
In Erbil, the US dollar exchange rate ranged between 1516.6 dinars and 1515.5 dinars.
The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) announced last February that it started applying the new exchange rate of the US dollar, which is 1,300 dinars against one US dollar.
The previous official exchange rate was 1450 dinars to one US dollar, which was being exchanged in the parallel market at a rate of 1550 dinars.
In January 2023, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the local currency reached 1610 dinars, while the official exchange rate remained 1450 dinars per dollar, with a gap between the two exchange rates of more than 10 percent.