Expert warns of a rebound in the dollar/dinar exchange rate near the new year

Shafaq News/ An expert on Saturday warned of a rebound in the US dollar exchange rate against the Iraqi dinar that might follow a consistent pattern of decline towards the end of the current year.

The Iraqi government attributes the drop in the dollar rate to many factors, including the country's strong foreign exchange reserves and the efficient management of foreign trade.

"The rate in the parallel market is gradually approaching the official benchmark, due to the recent growth of private sector trade, the adherence to forex regulations, and the great flexibility of the banks managing the exchange platform," said Mudher Mohammed Saleh, the financial and economic advisor to Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani.

Saleh added that the opening up to transfers through various methods, including payment cards, importing physical foreign currency, and diversifying the hard currency reserves has also contributed to the decline in the US dollar rate in the parallel market.

Saleh said that the central bank's monetary policy is being "accurately and positively" implemented in accordance with short- and medium-term plans to maintain stability for the national economy.

"Therefore, the exchange rate will continue to decline in the parallel market," he said.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Sulaymaniyah Stock Exchange, Kurban Jabar, revealed that the dollar exchange rate is expected to fluctuate in the coming days due to the Christmas holiday.

He attributed the recent drop of the US dollar exchange rate against the Iraqi dinar to the success of a campaign the Iraqi government launched to boost external transfers by the beginning of the new year and its intention to deal in Iraqi dinars in all financial transactions."

"Of course, delivering the green banknotes directly to the banks, basically five banks, instead of the Central Bank of Iraq was also a major influence," Jabar said.

Jabar confirmed that there is an intention to link those banks to a bank in Oman and to increase the number of banks soon. He explained that if financial transactions in the country were unified in Iraqi dinars, this would allow the dinar to recover and the dollar exchange rate to decline, as the demand for the US dollar would be limited only to traders and citizens who wish to travel abroad.

Jabar pointed out that it is expected that there will be fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate during the remaining days of the outgoing year since major companies are either on vacation or doing the final financial assessment of the year.