Shafaq News / Al-Anbar Police Command, western Iraq, today, Thursday, arrested eight merchants in the Fallujah Market for rising commodity prices, a security source said.

Meanwhile, Kazem one of the foodstuff dealers in Fallujah, says, “What can we do if the items are sailed to us at exorbitant prices?”

The Iraqi security authorities imposed strict follow-up measures to address market volatility and prices.

Last December, Iraq’s central bank increased the sale price of U.S. dollars to banks and currency exchanges to 1,460 dinars, from 1,182 dinars, seeking to compensate for a decline in oil revenue due to low crude prices.

The central bank of Iraq said the key reason behind the dinar’s devaluation was to close the gap of widened 2021 budget inflation after a collapse in global oil prices, a major source of Iraq’s financial resources.

It is noteworthy that the Commodity prices are rising rapidly in the local market which caused serious resentment among the people and some of the political bloc.

AM Best has released a new Country Risk Assessment Report on Iraq, which provides an economic, political and financial system risk assessment on the country, which Iraq is classified in a “very high risk situation.”

Iraq’s economy is extremely undiversified, as it is highly dependent on the oil sector. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the country’s economic vulnerabilities to external demand conditions. The report showed.

Iraq is the second–largest crude oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) after Saudi Arabia, and it holds the world’s fifth–largest proved crude oil reserves but still a poor of services country due to corruption.