USD/IQD rate dip in Baghdad

Shafaq News / The exchange rates of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar declined, on Monda,y in the central exchanges and local markets in the capital, Baghdad.

According to our correspondent, central Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya exchanges recorded a price of 149,600 IQD per $100, compared to 149,900 IQD per $100 the previous Sunday.

The selling prices in currency exchange shops in Baghdad registered a selling price of 150,750 IQD, while the buying price reached 148,750 IQD per $100.

Globally, the dollar was steady on Monday as traders looked ahead to a week dominated by central bank meetings worldwide, with the Bank of Japan seemingly on the brink of ending negative rates and the focus on how many rate cuts the Federal Reserve projects, as reported by Reuters.

Apart from Japan and the United States, central banks in England, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, Mexico, Taiwan, Brazil, and Indonesia are all due to meet, with most expected to stand pat on rates.

The spotlight in Asia is firmly on the BOJ as the bigger-than-expected pay hikes by major Japanese firms cemented expectations that the central bank is set to herald a new era by ending its negative interest rate policy, potentially as soon as Tuesday.

Internal preparations for an exit have been in the works since Kazuo Ueda took office as BOJ governor in April last year and were mostly done by year-end, sources familiar with the bank's thinking told Reuters.

Latest weekly data from the U.S. markets regulator shows speculators hold a net short yen position worth $8.66 billion, down from the $11 billion they held at the start of the month.

There is still a possibility that the BOJ may choose to wait till its April meeting to make the move, with markets pricing in a 39% chance of the central bank taking the policy rate to 0.0% from -0.1% on Tuesday.

While the U.S. central bank is not expected to make any interest rate moves, hotter-than-expected U.S. producer and consumer price data last week has led traders to rein in bets on future cuts, as cited by Reuters.