Kurdish Economist Warns Official Statements Behind Surge in Dollar Rates Against Iraqi Dinar
Shafaq News/ Kurdish economist Goran Jabbar revealed on Wednesday that recent statements made by certain officials have contributed to the surge in the US dollar exchange rates against the Iraqi dinar.
Jabbar, the official spokesman for the currency market in Sulaymaniyah, suggested that the Central Bank of Iraq holds the potential to resolve the issue.
The dollar's price spiked to its highest levels in two months, reaching 158,000 dinars per 100 dollars earlier in the day, before slightly declining to 156,000 dinars per 100 dollars.
Jabbar dismissed the notion that the recent sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department on 14 Iraqi banks significantly affected the dollar's high price. He explained that these banks' transactions in dollars constitute a mere 1.29%, with their acquisition of dollars limited to just 8%.
Instead, Jabbar attributed the price surge to officials' statements about possible sanctions on the Central Bank of Iraq in November. He emphasized that these remarks caused anxiety among citizens, leading them to shift their savings to dollars, increasing the demand for foreign currency recently.
Jabbar refuted claims that the United States had imposed sanctions on the Central Bank of Iraq, asserting that such rumors were false. He highlighted the bank's critical role in dealing with Iraqi oil imports. He underscored that a ban on the Central Bank would hinder Iraq's crude exports, impacting the global economy due to the substantial volume of daily oil exports.
The economist pointed out that some banks are allegedly involved in currency smuggling to countries facing US sanctions, with high-ranking officials implicated in these activities.
Addressing potential measures to tackle the crisis, Jabbar suggested that the Central Bank take stringent actions against these banks, similar to the approach adopted four months ago when the dollar's value reached 167,000 dinars per 100 dollars, eventually settling at 148,000 dinars.
In light of the situation, Jabbar called on the Central Bank of Iraq to extend loans to small projects and ease and expand the process of granting foreign currency to merchants and individuals seeking to travel through financial dealing companies (money changers).
The statements made by officials and the subsequent concerns have drawn the attention of the Parliamentary Finance Committee. Deputy head of the committee, Ahmed Mazhar, criticized the Central Bank's decision to allow exchange companies to directly sell dollars to citizens wishing to travel outside Iraq, raising concerns about potential clashes with US Treasury policies and the possible issuance of further sanctions on the bank.
