Shafaq News - Baghdad

Iraq’s central bank (CBI) has reached its highest gold reserves since its establishment, surpassing 24 trillion Iraqi dinars (approximately $16.4B), the Future of Iraq Foundation for Economic Studies and Consulting reported on Wednesday.

Manar Al-Obaidi, head of the foundation, highlighted that the central bank’s gold holdings rose 13.3% over the past year and jumped 135% compared with 2022. Gold now represents 20% of the bank’s total reserves, which amount to 123 trillion dinars (around $84.2 billion).

Al-Obaidi described the level as unprecedented, noting that CBI’s gold reserves had never exceeded 20 trillion dinars (about $13.7 billion) before. This is also the first time gold makes up more than one-fifth of total reserves.

Emphasizing that expanding gold reserves reinforces the value of the Iraqi dinar amid fluctuations in global currencies, he noted that the CBI has prioritized increasing gold holdings as a financial safeguard against international market volatility.