Baghdad (AFP) – The exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar has been witnessing fluctuations against the dollar for about two months, he attributes it Experts indicated that Iraq began complying with international procedures on financial transfers in hard currency, while parties to the The country, Washington, is responsible for this decline, while the official fixed exchange rate is 1470 dinars against the dollar Al-Wahed, the price of the dinar in the market has declined since mid-November to 1,600 dinars at the beginning of the week. Before settling at about 1570, according to the official news agency, meaning that the Iraqi currency lost about 10% of its value This decline is not considered huge, but it is starting to worry the Iraqis From the rise in the prices of imported materials, such as gas and wheat, for example, says the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Affairs Finance Mazhar Saleh told AFP that the “fundamental and fundamental reason” for this decline “is an external constraint But Some Iraqi politicians believe that the United States is behind this volatility. Hadi Al-Amiri, head of the Al-Fateh Alliance, which represents the Popular Mobilization Forces, which includes pro-Iranian factions affiliated with The state, in a statement on Tuesday, asked the Americans to exercise “pressure on Iraq to prevent its opening up to Europe and the countries of the world.” And he considered that the Americans are using “the dollar as a weapon to starve people.” On the other hand, he believes Economist Ahmed Tabakashli said, “Contrary to rumors and misinformation, there is no evidence of pressure American on Iraq », the important economic and commercial partner of neighboring Iran.
shock
In fact, the volatility of the dinar is linked to the start of Iraq’s compliance with some of the standards of the international transfer system (SWIFT), which has become Iraqi banks should apply it since mid-November to access Iraq’s dollar reserves located in the United States, so that Iraq could access those reserves, which amount to 100 billion Dollars, he currently has to comply with systems that “require compliance with international anti-money laundering provisions, and anti-money laundering provisions.” Terrorist financing, and those related to sanctions, such as those applied to Iran and Russia, ”according to Tabakishli.
He adds that the matter is related to entering Iraq «within a system of global financial transfers that requires a high degree of transparency However, this “caused a shock” to many Iraqi banks, “because they are not used to This system.” Mazhar Salih explained that Iraqi banks should now register “their transfers (transfers). in dollars) on an electronic platform, the requests are checked … and the Federal Reserve examines them, and if it has doubts, it arrests the transfer
And the Federal Reserve has refused, since the implementation of the restrictions, “80% of requests” for financial transfers to Iraqi banks According to Saleh, due to doubts about the final destination of those funds being transferred, he said.
temporary condition
This refusal affected the supply of dollars in the Iraqi market. On the other hand, demand accumulated, but the supply was not consistent with it, and therefore the exchange rate fell with a decline Bank transfers in dollars The Central Bank of Iraq spoke in a statement on Tuesday about the return of the exchange rate to what it was in two weeks, describing the “turmoil in dollar prices” as a “temporary condition.” . Meanwhile, the Iraqi authorities have taken measures, including facilitating the financing of private sector trade in dollars through Iraqi banks, opening outlets to sell foreign currency in government banks to the public for travel purposes. The Council of Ministers also decided to “commit all government agencies to sell all goods and services inside Iraq in dinars and at a price The Central Bank, amounting to (1470) dinars for one dollar.
Mazhar Salih believes that “these measures are important because they show that the state exists to protect the market and the citizen.” It helps to “repel the problem”.
Despite the dinar’s decline, the inflation rate is still small, amounting to 5.3 percent, at an annual rate In October 2022, according to the Ministry of Planning, but the actual concerns relate to the purchasing power of the population.
Saad Al-Taie, a retiree whose son helps run a small shop in the Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad, He feels the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on his purchasing power, and says, “This fluctuation is a problem Genuine, for the merchant who sells retail and for the consumer ».
He adds that «Iraqis have limited salaries and receive their salaries in Iraqi dinars. As a retired person, I receive 494 thousand dinars… When the dollar was 1470, the value of my salary was 336 dollars. Today, at the exchange rate of 1570, my salary becomes $314.”
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