Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s currency in circulation reached 113.560 trillion dinars ($86.3B) in May 2026, adding 13.761 trillion dinars ($10.6B), or 13.8%, from the end of 2025, according to a review by Shafaq News on Tuesday.

Currency in circulation rose steadily during the first five months of 2026, starting at 99.799 trillion dinars ($76.8B) in December 2025 before reaching 101.431 trillion dinars ($78.1B) in January. The figure then climbed to 104.614 trillion dinars ($80.5B) in February, 108.985 trillion dinars ($83.8B) in March, 112.896 trillion dinars ($85.8B) in April, and 113.560 trillion dinars ($86.3B) in May.

The largest monthly change came in March, when currency in circulation expanded by around 4.371 trillion dinars ($3.4B). The amount recorded another gain of 3.911 trillion dinars ($3.0B) in April before slowing in May, with an increase of about 664 billion dinars ($511M).

The rise coincided with pressure on Iraq’s public finances, including a gap between government revenues and spending, disruptions in oil revenue flows, and delays in salary payments for some state institutions.

Mahmoud Dagher, a financial and banking expert who previously served as a director general at the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), described currency in circulation as a normal CBI operation but noted that it had become the only available short-term measure to provide liquidity during the current period.

Warning that the policy could contribute to inflationary pressure and place additional strain on foreign currency reserves, he stressed that Baghdad had limited alternatives and was forced to rely on the measure as the lesser of two risks.

“Iraq did not have access to external financial support or a sovereign wealth fund that could provide additional resources,” Dagher added, pointing to limited alternative oil export channels.

Earlier today, the CBI reported that Iraq’s currency in circulation stood at 113.560 trillion dinars ($86.3B) at the end of May 2026, compared with 112.896 trillion dinars ($85.8B) a month earlier, as currency circulating outside the banking system continued to expand.