The Central Bank explains the reasons for the rise in dollar prices
Today, Wednesday, a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ahmed Barihi, explained the reasons for the rise in dollar exchange rates in the local market.
The video for this blogpost is below here:
Berihi said in a statement to the Maalouma Agency, “The issue of the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar in the local market is not related to the measures taken by the bank, but rather due to the American restrictions imposed on the Central Bank and related to the electronic platform.”
He added, "Another reason related to the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar is the connection to the electronic platform that controls the floating of the currency in the market where it is less than the demand. Therefore, the price of the dollar will be raised and the platform is controlled by the US Federal Reserve, which will cause a difference from the official price."
During the past few days, the exchange rates of the dollar against the dinar recorded a noticeable increase in the stock market and banking shops in the capital, Baghdad, and the provinces.
During the current period, America has worked to destroy the Iraqi currency by imposing sanctions on private banks, and banning the dollar under many pretexts, which in one way or another led to a severe financial crisis in the local markets.
150 Postponed Laws.. Major Duties Await the Iraqi Parliament in Its Second Legislative Term
The Iraqi Parliament began its second legislative session of the third legislative year after the end of its legislative recess yesterday, Tuesday, while the Parliament Presidency called on the representatives, committees and parliamentary blocs to resume their legislative and oversight work, without specifying the date of the next session to "complete the legislative and oversight entitlements placed on the Parliament," according to a statement by the Parliament Presidency.
The House of Representatives voted in its first legislative session “on the budget law and the national security law, as well as voting on several draft laws, in addition to the first and second reading of some laws, while the hosting and interrogations did not go unnoticed, which ended with the dismissal of the director of the Iraqi Media Network and the head of the Board of Trustees,” according to the member of the State Administration Alliance, MP Ali Nima Al-Bandawi.
Al-Bandawi confirmed to Shafaq News Agency, "All parliamentary committees are active and have meetings, hosting, meetings, and field visits. The House of Representatives began its work in the second legislative session the day before yesterday, as the Parliament Presidency called for the necessity of joining the committees and following up on their daily work, although our oversight work was ongoing throughout the legislative holiday, as it was a holiday that was only for the legislative legislation aspect."
Al-Bandawi added, "The House of Representatives is waiting for many laws, and all committees have a set of important laws, but most of the laws are not proposed by the House of Representatives, but rather come from the government, especially those with a financial aspect, considering that the government is aware of the money and spending methods."
Regarding the laws of the Security and Defense Committee, of which he is a member, Al-Bandawi explains, “The National Security Law has been completed after it had been postponed for four sessions. During this term, the committee has the Intelligence Law and the Information Crimes Law, which have been suspended since previous sessions. We hope to vote on them during the coming period, as well as other laws.”
He added that "there are also a number of proposals, including a draft law to include some victims of natural disasters, including the Ibn al-Khatib Hospital incident, the incident of teachers in one of the schools in the Safwan Cases Center in Basra Governorate, the incident of students in the al-Hartha district in Basra, and other incidents in Maysan Governorate," noting that "these proposals will be discussed and put forward for the purpose of voting on them and providing justice to their families."
150 draft laws and proposals
For his part, MP Omid Mohammed Ahmed, a member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, said, “There are more than 150 draft laws and proposed laws that have accumulated since the first session of Parliament until today, some of which have reached the second reading, some of which are still in the first reading, and another section is just a draft, whether from those sent by the government or proposals put forward by parliamentary committees or a group of parliament members.”
Ahmed said during his interview with Shafaq News Agency, "In the previous legislative session, a schedule was created for the most important laws that directly affect the citizen, and an agreement was reached on a mechanism to legislate non-controversial laws that all political blocs agree on, but so far there is no specific schedule for legislating non-controversial laws. The sessions are supposed to start yesterday because the legislative holiday ended and the work of the committees has resumed, but a day has not been set for holding the session, and when the sessions start, the important laws will be determined."
"Failure is growing" due to the indecisiveness of the Parliament Speaker
However, political analyst Dr. Ghazi Faisal believes that “the absence of the Speaker of the House of Representatives for 7 months, in addition to the lack of consensus and agreement between the various political parties and alliances, whether Shiite, Sunni or others, towards issuing more than 50 laws that the constitutional articles clearly indicate, and these laws aim to facilitate the implementation of the constitutional articles.”
Faisal added to Shafaq News Agency, "The failure and inability during more than 20 years of enacting a law related to oil and gas, for example, was the cause of many problems and crises between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad, especially with regard to investments, companies, and oil exports from the region via Ceyhan in Turkey. The prevention of the continued export of oil via Ceyhan also caused losses exceeding 15 billion dollars to the Iraqi economy, and all agreements between the two parties failed to achieve the return of oil exports via Ceyhan."
Faisal continues, "If we take Article 140, which requires implementation after two years with the first elected government and parliament in 2005, we notice the government's failure at the time to implement this article during the two years and to resolve the problems related to the disputed areas in Kirkuk and its outskirts, as well as the law regulating the relationship between the Peshmerga as regular combat forces and the Iraqi armed forces."
He added, "Also, the draft general amnesty law, for example, which is supposed to aim to pardon detainees and prisoners for political reasons, but this law has remained stalled and the parties concerned or those who have the majority in parliament and in the political process have not committed to legislating this law, as is the case in the rest of the countries of the world."
He explains that “the lack of agreement and consensus suspended the issuance of a law for the Federal Court, as the Constitution clearly indicates, and that this law is what regulates the work of the Federal Court, which has remained to this day formed according to the State Administration Law during the era of Paul Bremer, and no new law has been issued since 2005 according to the 2005 Constitution, in addition to many important laws to regulate economic, political and social life according to the aforementioned Constitution.”
Faisal believes that “this failure will continue and grow in the legislative authority due to the failure to resolve the position of the Speaker of Parliament and his election, which is stipulated and stipulated in the constitution, three days after the dismissal or death of the Speaker of Parliament, a new speaker is elected. But today, more than 7 months after the dismissal of Halbousi, we find a dangerous political vacuum in the legislative authority. This is also due to the lack of a real and serious consensus between the Sunni parties to form a majority that nominates a Speaker of Parliament and elects this speaker, and between the continued absence of this majority and the continued insistence of (Progress) on the fact that it is the one that forms the majority, and thus it is the one that nominates a new Speaker of Parliament.”
He added, "Therefore, we are facing a model of deep and dangerous conflicts and contradictions between the Sunni parties and the parties in the Coordination Framework that did not agree on a figure to be elected in coordination with the Sunni majority in Parliament to overcome the issue of electing a new Speaker of Parliament."
Faisal concluded by saying, "All this reflects a disastrous failure of the parties in the political process to commit to implementing the constitutional articles since the 2005 Constitution until today, as well as the failure to commit to the constitutional articles within the framework of governance and the organization of state administration and the failure of the political parties, especially the Coordination Framework, to the agreements adopted within the framework of the State Alliance when the Sudanese government was formed and the government program, which included essential demands of the Kurdistan Democratic Party that were not committed to implementing, as well as the failure to implement the demands put forward by the Sunni parties regarding the general amnesty, Jurf al-Sakhr, the return of the displaced, compensation, the release of detainees for political reasons and other details that were proven in the agreements. Therefore, we are facing a political, legislative and societal vacuum, and we hope that the political parties will return to drawing a roadmap to confront these various challenges."
"MPs are political analysts"
In the same context, the head of the Al-Rafd Center for Media and Studies, Dr. Abbas Al-Jubouri, says, “Many citizens have lost hope in this parliament due to the large percentage of inaction that has occurred and the parliament has turned into a parliament of political conflicts, arguments, insults, and obscene words, as evidenced by what happened in the last session to elect the parliament speaker.”
Al-Jubouri explained to Shafaq News Agency, "Parliament has not been able to elect a speaker for 7 months despite the existence of mechanisms and the position is decided for a specific component, but the political conflict within Parliament and the agendas that have entered it are what disrupt the sessions. As evidence, when the first round took place, the second round was supposed to continue and the matter would be over, but there were contacts from outside Parliament and pressure was put on the Parliament presidency to disrupt the session, so it is unlikely that Parliament will accomplish anything."
Al-Jubouri reveals that there are “more than 140 suspended laws that are still on the shelf, postponed from the first session until now. Among these laws are the Popular Mobilization Law, Oil and Gas Law, Federal Court Law, Elections Commission Law, Social Justice Law, Retirement Law, Salary Scale Law, and many other laws that are still on the shelves and have not been decided.”
He continued, "Therefore, nothing is expected from the parliament. It will hold its sessions and will be busy with matters and discuss laws that do not affect people's lives. Consequently, the conflict and argument over the election of the parliament speaker will begin, and so on. Meanwhile, a large number of representatives have begun to wander around the ministries and have turned into collaborators in order to complete some transactions for their voters, and this is not the role of the representative."
Al-Jubouri continues his talk: “The other part of the representatives has become political analysts who appear on satellite channels analyzing instead of legislating laws and monitoring actions in light of the corruption that has reached the highest level. Therefore, the state of parliament is like the state of the provincial councils, which have not accomplished anything and part of them are paralyzed and have not been decided yet, as is the case in the provinces of Diyala and Kirkuk, for which no governor has been elected to this day.”
Hot legislative session for parliament with amnesty, oil and property laws - Urgent
The Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee revealed, on Wednesday, a number of draft laws that will be voted on during the second legislative term of the third legislative year of the House of Representatives.
“There are a number of draft laws that will be voted on during the second legislative term of the third legislative year, including the twenty-first amendment to the Personnel Law No. 25 of 1960, which includes a wide segment of employees of the ministries in the state, in addition to the general amnesty law that does not include terrorists and ISIS members, but there are oppressed people in prisons, as well as the law amending the Martyrs Foundation Law, and also among the important draft laws is the service and retirement law for the fighters of the Popular Mobilization Authority,” said committee member MP Alaa Al-Haidari in a statement to Al-Rabia.
4 new decisions from the Central Bank of Iraq regarding government banks
The Central Bank of Iraq revealed a new plan regarding government banks, including Rafidain and Rashid.
According to a document issued by the Central Bank of Iraq and received by "Al-Eqtisad News", "the meetings that took place with the Prime Minister, in the presence of the Governor of the Central Bank and the Minister of Finance, regarding the decision of the Council of Ministers held on 1/2/2024 and the proposed idea of transforming the Industrial Bank into a public joint-stock company with the contribution of local and foreign investors, and that the second phase would include the Agricultural Cooperative Bank, we explain to you below the new plan regarding the bank and other government banks
1- Rafidain Bank is being restructured by dividing it into two banks (the old one for government accounts, and the new one as a commercial bank/public joint-stock company).
2- After that, Rashid Bank will be merged with the new Rafidain Bank.
3- The Industrial Bank will be transformed into a public joint-stock company, and then the Agricultural Cooperative Bank will be acquired.
4- At a later stage, the Real Estate Bank will be merged with the Housing Fund.
After the dollar jumps.. Parliamentary Finance Committee determines the fate of exchange rates and the reason for the increase
The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed, today, Wednesday (July 10, 2024), the gradual return of the dollar exchange rate to decline in local markets over the coming days, indicating that what happened was a temporary situation caused by speculators.
Committee member Moeen Al-Kadhimi said in an interview with Baghdad Today, "There are no problems in the availability of dollar liquidity or securing daily foreign trade requirements, especially since the Central Bank of Iraq sells more than (250) million dollars per day."
He explained that "the current rise is temporary and is due to the increased demand for the dollar in the parallel market by some speculators, but this matter is temporary and in the coming few days the dollar will witness a gradual decline as it was before," indicating that "the government's work is ongoing and continuous without any interruption until the exchange rate in the parallel market reaches the official price."
The exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar in the stock exchange this evening recorded a new relative decline, reaching 148,800 dinars per hundred dollars, after witnessing continuous jumps during the past days that exceeded 151 thousand dinars per hundred dollars.
Yesterday, Baghdad Today had monitored an important and mysterious reason, which was the sudden and incomprehensible increase in demand for the dollar in the parallel market, which is the return of scenes of money bags and new blocks with billions of dinars of the new-printed currency and its entry into the market for the purpose of exchanging it for the dollar.
Exchange office owners confirm that there is an “unnatural demand these days” for the dollar in the parallel market, without knowing what is behind this demand.
Al-Sudani stayed awake until 2 am.. then slept comfortably after the dollar meeting
The "price shock" will not last
An informed source in the Central Bank reported that last night’s meeting between Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and representatives of exchange companies objecting to the new decisions regarding the travelers’ dollar amid a sudden rise in the exchange rate, led to the cancellation of the strike that was scheduled by these companies, in exchange for a promise from the government and the Central Bank to review the demands called for by the money changers. Meanwhile, one of the businessmen who attended the meeting confirmed that the talks continued until two in the morning, and then everyone left feeling less concerned about the expected financial fluctuations in the .coming period
:A source in the Central Bank
The position of the government and the Central Bank is clear regarding the procedures for selling the dollar, especially the travelers’ dollar, and restricting it to bank and company outlets at airports, and there is no going back on this .position There is a rejection from some companies of the new mechanism, but this rejection will not lead to changing the procedures. There is a bigger issue related to the American position on the currency selling mechanism and the conditions and mechanisms of the sale. Therefore, the government and the Central Bank will .not risk the dollar file for the sake of objections here or there Some exchange companies want to get a share of the dollar to sell it directly to travelers, but the government and the Central Bank want to ensure that the dollar reaches the travelers who deserve it and that there are no manipulations that give the dollar to other parties that exploit the travelers’ share through these .companies to obtain the dollar and exploit it in illegal trade
What happened yesterday was a direct reaction to the measures to restrict the granting of dollars to travelers at airports, as this step will harm a large group of speculators and beneficiaries of buying and selling dollars in unofficial ways. However, there are some legitimate demands from some exchange company .owners that will be seriously considered by the government and the Central Bank We expect the dollar to rise temporarily during the current week and next week with the implementation of procedures for selling dollars to travelers at airports, but the procedure, in the medium and long term, will be in the interest of the Iraqi citizen as the real beneficiary of the dollar, and the procedure will also work to gradually reduce the price. This scenario occurred in conjunction with the .implementation of similar procedures on previous occasions The conclusion of the meeting that brought together Al-Sudani and representatives of some exchange companies led to the cancellation of the strike in exchange for a promise to consider the demands of these companies, provided that they work to adhere to the legal procedures for obtaining the dollar and selling it to the beneficiaries and accepting the specified profits and not seeking .large profits through manipulation and selling the dollar at the local market price
The Central Bank of Iraq grants exchange companies two categories: "AB"
The Central Bank of Iraq announced, today, Wednesday, granting exchange companies of the "AB" category the ability to register internal and external remittance activities through the FITR platform.
The Central Bank stressed in a statement: that the ceiling of financial transfers in one day should not exceed the company's capital.
A new branch of Rafidain Bank applies the comprehensive system.. this time in Diyala
Rafidain Bank announced today, Wednesday, the implementation of the comprehensive banking system in Diyala.
The bank's media office stated in a statement that "in implementation of the government program to move from paper transactions to electronic transactions to provide the best services to citizens, the comprehensive banking system has been implemented in the Baladruz branch in Diyala, thus joining the branches that have activated the comprehensive system in Baghdad and the governorates in addition to the border crossing branches (Zurbatiya - Safwan - Arar - Trebil), so that the number of effective and completed branches of the system becomes (32) branches in an important step to strengthen the banking system and achieve its requirements and leave paper work and move completely to electronic systems."
The bank confirmed that "the digital transformation plan and the adoption of the comprehensive banking system are proceeding according to the scheduled timings to include all branches of the bank in the implementation of the system, especially since the priorities and adoptions of the government program include electronic transformation in financial transactions, reducing the circles of routine for citizens, shortening time, simplifying procedures, overcoming obstacles, and intensifying efforts to improve the level of services provided to customers and completing their transactions."
91% of the Iraqi currency is outside the banking system
Economist Munar Al-Obaidi announced that the money supply rose to more than 102 trillion dinars until last June.
Al-Obaidi said, "The currency issued by the Central Bank of Iraq rose to reach 102.3 trillion Iraqi dinars at the end of June, with an annual growth rate of 2.4% and a monthly growth rate of 3%."
He added that the value of the currency outside the banking system rose to 93 trillion Iraqi dinars, after it was 90 trillion Iraqi dinars in March.
He pointed out that the percentage of cash outside the banking system reached 91%.
MP points out 5 government “failures” in the dollar issue.. and threatens to hold the “highest authority” accountable
#a permit
After more than 18 eighteen months since the beginning of the problem of the devaluation of the Iraqi currency and the occurrence of a large gap between the official dollar exchange rate and the parallel rate, it has been confirmed beyond doubt that the measures of the Central Bank and the "government measures" and its advisors have failed to achieve stability for the dinar and reduce the gap between the two rates.
Therefore, we have no choice but to hold the relevant authorities accountable, especially the (Central Bank Administration) and the (government) for this failure that costs the state huge sums of money (trillions) that are wasted outside the budget, and billions that go into the pockets of the corrupt, whose addresses are many, and the people bear a great burden as a result of the prices of most goods being based on the exchange rate in the parallel market, which is much higher than the official selling price.
The government will be questioned at its highest level due to the failure to achieve important points in the government program and the waste of huge amounts of money that our people are in great need of.
In order not to be accused of speaking without knowledge and without understanding the nature of the problem and diagnosing the governmental failure and negligence, I will specifically identify the most prominent sources of failure that the procedures of the Central Bank and the government caused in the continuation of the problem and the waste of money, and they are:
1- The failure of the Central Bank and the government to determine Iraq’s position towards America in dealing with countries that the United States prohibits from using the dollar and restricts trade with, such as Iran and Syria, unlike other countries that succeeded in agreeing with America on a formula for dealing with Iran, Syria and Turkey without facing restrictions like those facing Iraq.
2- The government’s failure to control the ports and informal trade that depend on the parallel dollar. This is due to the government’s failure to unify customs policy and prevent informal ports, especially in Kurdistan, where there are more than 32 unofficial and uncontrolled ports or crossings.
3- The government’s failure to address the issue of (small traders), whose number exceeds, according to government information, (400,000) four hundred thousand traders and suppliers of goods in Iraq, who practice trade outside the official framework, and rely on the parallel dollar to cover their imports, as they evade using platforms and official transfer for tax reasons and to bypass the delay resulting from auditing transfers.
4- The failure of the Central Bank and the government to address the problem of speculation and commissions received by banks, as they buy the dollar at the official price of 132 and sell it at a price exceeding 140, without showing this in their records, and without deterrent legal accountability procedures.
5- The failure of the Central Bank and the government’s procedures to provide travelers with dollars, and this file turned into a corruption file, the cost of which was estimated at (600 billion dinars) according to oversight data, due to the collection of dollars for travel purposes without verifying the travel or actual need (fictitious cases).
These five points represent the most prominent reasons for the problem of the gap in the dollar price and its instability, and because of them billions are lost and wasted. In addition to that, Arab and foreign banks entered and took over the currency auction under the pretext of facilitating the procedures for dealing with international banks, so their profits increased at the expense of Iraq.
In light of this, our responsibility as representatives who are not participating in this government and who oppose the quota system, and who have sworn to protect the interests of the people, requires us to take all constitutional, legal and popular means to stand up to this failure and mismanagement that has wasted the people’s money and harmed the Iraqi economy. We will join hands with all those who stand with us from the honorable representatives from the other blocs, who we know are not satisfied with the situation and we hope they will rise up against it.
Independent MP Dr. Raed Al-Maliki
Member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee
July 9, 2024
Dollar mafias and corruption reveal Al-Sudani's government's inability to manage Iraq's economy
Today, Monday, the leader of the Coordination Framework, Jabbar Awda, accused the United States of resuming the dollar chaos scenario in Iraq, holding Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani responsible for the deterioration of the dinar exchange rate against the dollar.
On the other hand, observers believe that there are mafias that make tens of millions of dollars daily due to Al-Sudani’s wrong policies. They point out that the decision to reduce the exchange rate that Al-Sudani took at the beginning of his government’s work is the main reason for the current problem, not foreign interventions.
bservers confirm that Al-Sudani’s decision to reduce the exchange rate caused huge losses to the budget exceeding $15 billion, which negatively affected the Iraqi economy. Observers also point out that the lack of effective oversight by the House of Representatives and the neglect of basic issues led to the deterioration of the exchange rate, as the parliament was preoccupied with secondary issues and did not focus on its oversight role in following up on the government’s performance.
Awda said in an interview with “Al-Maalouma” followed by “Al-Mustaqilla”, that “America has sought since 2003 to make the Iraqi economy hostage to the policies of the White House, and to use the dollar as a pressure tool to confront any move outside the context of its interests in the region.” He added that “the recent rise in the exchange rate is nothing but a scenario for chaos through pressure on the parallel market and raising exchange rates,” stressing that “the Iraqi economy will not be safe as long as Washington exploits oil revenues through the Federal Bank.”
Observers also point out that Al-Sudani's populist policies and instability in the exchange rate reflect his political ambition to obtain a second term, which exposes the Iraqi economy to more pressures and problems.
Awda pointed out that “the statements of the new American ambassador carried three clear agendas in Baghdad: using the economic card, oil sales supplies, and trying to escalate the security situation and interfere in the country’s affairs,” adding that “Baghdad’s exit from the pressure of the dollar will free the country from dangerous restrictions imposed by the White House administration for more than 20 years.”
It is noteworthy that the dollar exchange rate witnessed a significant increase, which raised many question marks amid accusations that an American agenda is behind what is happening.
In conclusion, observers agree that the problem is not only in foreign interventions, but also in wrong government policies and rampant corruption that exploits crises to achieve personal gains, which requires decisive interventions to achieve justice and integrity in the management of economic affairs.
In numbers.. Revealing the daily volume of dollar sales in the parallel market in Iraq - Urgent
Financial expert Mustafa Akram Hantoush revealed, today, Tuesday (July 9, 2024), the volume of daily dollar sales in the parallel market through the stock exchange in Baghdad and exchange offices.
Hantoush said in an interview with Baghdad Today, "Estimates indicate that the volume of daily trade in the local Iraqi market ranges between 50 and 75 million dollars per day, and this number goes to several requirements, the largest of which is trade with Iran and Syria, which is not covered by the Central Bank of Iraq and is a profitable trade for many traders."
He explained that "there are requirements in the market, such as travelers to Iran, Syria and Russia. The traveler to these countries does not receive dollars from the Central Bank, and for this reason he resorts to the parallel market, in addition to other requirements, which are foreign workers who have invaded the Iraqi market with the presence of more than a million workers. These people receive annual transfers of money amounting to approximately 5 billion dollars, and they are paid through the parallel market, in addition to the citizen saving in dollars, and this demand is not small, in addition to other requirements such as car trade and others."
The financial expert added, "The volume of sales of the stock exchange and exchanges in Baghdad on a daily basis ranges between 50 and 75 million dollars, and this is a large and important number, and there must be solutions to reduce these amounts."
On Thursday (July 4, 2024), the Parliamentary Finance Committee considered the rise in the dollar exchange rate in the parallel markets to be “temporary,” expecting it to decline over the next two days.
Committee member Moeen Al-Kadhimi told Baghdad Today that "the rise in the dollar exchange rate in the local market is very slight compared to previous increases," considering that "this rise is dependent on the amount of demand for the currency in the parallel market and is a temporary matter."
Al-Kadhimi said, "The Central Bank of Iraq sells the dollar normally and on a daily basis, and there are no problems with the issue of providing the dollar," considering that "any rise in the dollar will be met with steps and procedures to reduce it, and we expect that during the next two days the exchange rate will witness a gradual decline."
Since Eid al-Adha, the dollar exchange rate has gradually increased from 145,800 thousand dinars per 100 dollars, to more than 150 thousand dinars in exchange offices and markets.
Expert warns of dollar exceeding 160 thousand for Iranian goods in the Iraqi market
Economic expert Nabil Al-Marsoumi warned on Wednesday of the widening gap between the parallel price of the US dollar and the official price set by the Central Bank of Iraq and its repercussions on the Iraqi market.
Al-Marsoumi said in a post on social media today, "If the travelers' dollar actually reaches travelers, the parallel dollar will soar high, and the gap between it and the official dollar will widen," explaining that "a large part of the cash dollar will be saved or hoarded by travelers, which will reduce the supply of cash dollars, which are often used to finance the Iraqi private sector's imports of Iranian goods and to cover the demand of travelers to countries subject to US sanctions."
He added, "If the cash dollar exceeds the 1,600 dinar barrier (for one dollar), this will greatly undermine the competitiveness of Iranian goods in the Iraqi market."
It is noteworthy that the exchange rate of the US dollar against the dinar has risen significantly after the Central Bank of Iraq decided to grant the dollar exclusively to travelers at airports and issued instructions to exchange companies to do so.
Mazhar Muhammad Salih: Our cash reserves are the highest and there are no fears of the dollar rising
Yesterday, Monday, the financial and economic advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, commented on the return of the rise in the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar in local markets.
Saleh explained that "the fixed exchange rate system in Iraq is based on an international reserves base that is the highest in the history of Iraq and its monetary policy, as foreign currency covers more than 100% of the total currency currently issued."
He added that "given the strength of the official central exchange market, the exchange rate of the dollar to the dinar in the parallel market today in the country does not constitute any relative importance in influencing the stability of the general price level, which has become stable in its components and trends due to the influence of the official exchange rate factor currently dominating the financing of foreign trade (imports) amounting to 1320 dinars per dollar, which is a stable trend for the exchange rate and around which the stable external value of the dinar revolves, which is embodied by the state of stability of the relative prices of goods and services to a large extent, as the annual inflation in the country does not exceed 3%."
According to Saleh, based on the above, and in light of the strength of the foreign reserves supporting the Iraqi dinar, the value of which as liquid foreign assets exceeds $100 billion, the official exchange market, as a general trend, will remain dominant in containing any colored noise or ambiguous information that affects the parallel exchange market in short periods due to urgent international or regional political events here and there or in adapting some instructions regulating the monetary market.
Al-Sudani's financial advisor said that after the decline of the dollarization phenomenon in domestic transactions, especially in contracts, obligations and payments within the country since last year and its legal prohibition, the parallel exchange market has become such that its general effects today only form a narrow economic scope of prohibited transactions practiced by informal markets and at a rate of 10% of the total supply and demand transactions for the currency.
Saleh stressed that "the stability of the exchange rate of the dinar to the dollar that the country is witnessing, even in the secondary markets, is a real and solid stability. Rather, it is derived from the strength of the impact of the price and quantity factors of the monetary and financial policies and their integration in imposing overall price stability in the country and containing the inflationary expectations that were caused by the forces of the parallel exchange market during the past years."
The financial advisor concluded his speech by pointing out that “the secondary (irregular) market, due to the freedom of external transfer, is under the influence of the official exchange market rate, whose operations are constantly expanding in favor of dealing at the fixed official exchange rate.”
A representative accuses America of obstructing Iraq's economic openness to the countries of the world
Today, Wednesday, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Economics Committee, Yasser Al-Husseini, accused the United States of America of obstructing Iraq's economic openness to the countries of the world.
Al-Husseini said in an interview with the Maalouma Agency, “The United States of America stands against Iraq's economic openness to the countries of the world, indicating that America has contributed greatly to preventing international companies from coming to Iraq.”
He added, "America stands as a stumbling block in the way of the growth of the Iraqi economy," noting that "what Iraq has reached is due to American interference in internal affairs."
He continued, "America does not want Iraq to be at the forefront of economically developed countries."
Economic: The ambiguity of the Central Bank's dealings serves the Americans
Today, Wednesday, economic expert Mustafa Hantoush revealed the existence of ambiguity in the Central Bank's dealings, behind which there are intentions that serve American interests.
Hantoush said in a statement to the Maalouma Agency, “The absence of weekly bulletins on the distribution of the dollar from the Central Bank has made the process of selling the dollar more ambiguous,” noting that “the ambiguity in the Central Bank’s recent dealings regarding the file of distributing the dollar.”
He continued, "The confusion in the work of the Central Bank enabled the American side to eliminate Iraqi banking by introducing foreign banks and granting them privileges in the country," pointing out that "80% of the dollar is distributed to foreign banks operating in Iraq in a step called presenting banking work on a platter." Who went to America and foreign banks?
It is noteworthy that the Central Bank authorized the work of three exchange companies inside airports, neglecting hundreds of companies in a decision that many considered a flop, which resulted in the decision increasing the US exchange rate against the Iraqi dinar to more than 150 thousand dinars .
Al-Shabaki: There are no government solutions to the repercussions of the rise in the dollar exchange rate
Today, Wednesday, former representative of the Finance Committee, Muhammad Al-Shabki, attributed the rise in the dollar to deficient government measures.
Al-Shabki said in a statement to the Maalouma agency, “The government’s economic policy is so far unworthy and has not risen to the level of the event,” noting that “until now there are no serious government solutions to end this issue, which is repeated from time to time.”
He added, "The large demand for the dollar during this period is one of the direct reasons for the rise in its price, in addition to the increasing demand for it, which made the crisis worsen," noting that "the fluctuations in the rise and fall in the currency lead to a lack of confidence in the dinar."
He called on "the government to be more realistic and clearer with this file so that there is monetary stability and to pursue a set of economic reforms with solid and strong foundations."
He continued, "The government's treatment of this issue is so far not at the required level," explaining that "the current crisis of the rise in the price of the dollar is an internal crisis."
The exchange rates of the US dollar rose again in Baghdad markets and money exchanges, recording more than 150 thousand dinars for every 100 US dollars.
The banking sector in Iraq.. open thefts and bargaining over loans
The independent politician and founder of the Iraqi National Movement, Laith Shaber, strongly criticized the banking sector in Iraq, describing it as one of the main pillars of political corruption in the country.
Shaber said in a tweet on the X website that Iraqi banks steal from citizens in broad daylight and take advantage of them, even though they work with their money
Shaber stressed that bank loans in Iraq are nothing but a series of bargains, high interest rates and complicated transactions, which add great misery to the lives of citizens. He added that many of these banks have amassed huge fortunes through currency exchange rate differences, and are often involved in money laundering operations.
Shaber explained that Iraqi banks, instead of being financial institutions that support economic development, have become part of the country’s widespread corruption system. He stressed that almost every Iraqi citizen has had a bad experience with banks, calling on everyone to speak up and not remain silent about these violations.
Shaber pointed out that one of the most prominent problems of the banking sector in Iraq is its exploitation of citizens by imposing high interest rates on loans, which makes it difficult for many to repay them and pushes them into a spiral of debt. The complex bureaucracy surrounding the process of obtaining loans also makes it almost impossible for the average citizen to benefit from these services.
Regarding money laundering, Shaber pointed out that many banks are directly or indirectly involved in these operations, which increases financial and political corruption in the country. He stressed that these banks exploit weak government oversight and supervision to achieve illicit profits.
In contrast, data from the Central Bank of Iraq showed that the banking sector witnessed remarkable growth in the period from 2022 to 2023. The volume of deposits increased from 129 trillion dinars to 131 trillion dinars, and private sector deposits increased from 54.9 trillion dinars to 55.5 trillion dinars. Total cash credit also increased from 60.5 trillion dinars to 69 trillion dinars, and credit granted to the private sector grew from 35 trillion dinars to 40 trillion dinars. These indicators reflect broad growth in the Iraqi banking sector during this period.
Finally, Shabar called for a comprehensive and radical reform of the banking sector in Iraq, to ensure transparency and accountability, and enhance citizens’ confidence in these financial institutions. He stressed the importance of the oversight role that must be played by governmental and independent bodies to ensure that such violations are not repeated and to protect the rights of Iraqi citizens.
For the first time, the Iraqi state's non-oil revenues record an increase of 11%
The "Iraq Al-Mustaqbal" Foundation for Economic Studies and Consultations announced on Thursday that for the first time, the non-oil revenues of the Iraqi state recorded 11% of the total revenues, with oil revenues falling below the 90% barrier.
A report issued by the institution today stated that non-oil revenues for the first five months of the current year amounted to 6.24 trillion Iraqi dinars, while oil revenues for the same period of the current year amounted to 48.4 trillion Iraqi dinars.
According to the report, tax revenues on income and wealth increased by 118%, while revenues from commodity taxes and production fees increased by 285%.
The institution's report indicated that fee revenues increased by 50%, while oil revenues increased by 6.4%.
The continued reliance of the Iraqi state on oil as the sole source of the general budget is a dangerous matter in the face of global crises that occur from time to time due to the impact of oil on them, which makes the country turn every time to cover the deficit through borrowing from abroad or domestically, which thus indicates the inability to manage the state’s funds effectively, and the inability to find alternative financing solutions.
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