Start selling dollars to travelers next week and new procedures for transfers in Iraq

An informed source revealed, on Wednesday, that Iraqi government banks will start selling US dollars to travelers starting next week, according to the procedures approved by the Central Bank of Iraq.

The source told Shafaq News Agency that government banks are preparing to implement the instructions of the Central Bank of Iraq to sell dollars to travelers at the official exchange rate at airports, indicating that this step comes within the government’s efforts to find solutions to the current dollar crisis.

The source indicated that the dollar will be delivered to travelers through the outlets of government banks located at the airports. He also noted that government banks are awaiting notification from the Central Bank of Iraq to obtain official approval to begin the process of selling the dollar and distributing it at the airports.

It is noteworthy that the Central Bank of Iraq decided on July 4, 2024 to start selling dollars to travelers, exclusively through corporate and banking outlets at international airports.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank decided to grant category “AB” exchange companies the ability to register internal and external remittance activities via the FITR platform.

The Central Bank stressed, according to an official document issued on July 10, that the ceiling for financial transfers in one day should not exceed the company’s capital.

Shafaq.com

Parliamentary effort to question the Central Bank: Costs Iraq trillions and threatens the economy

Member of the Legal Committee, Raed Al-Maliki, announced on Tuesday that he is seeking to hold the relevant authorities accountable, especially the Central Bank and the government, due to the failure of their procedures to address the crisis of the decline in the value of the Iraqi currency and the large gap between the official dollar exchange rate and the parallel rate.

Al-Maliki said, in a press statement received by Shafaq News Agency, that the continued failure of the Central Bank and the government to achieve stability of the dinar and reduce the gap between the two prices led to the waste of huge sums of money and exacerbated the suffering of citizens.

He pointed out that these conditions resulted in the state incurring trillions of dinars and enriching the corrupt at the expense of the people, as the prices of most goods depend on the parallel price, which is much higher than the official price.

Al-Maliki also pointed out that the failure of the government and the Central Bank to deal with the exchange rate crisis was embodied in several main aspects, the first of which is the government’s inability to determine Iraq’s position on countries banned from using the dollar, as it failed to reach an agreement with the United States on how to deal with Iran and Syria, while other countries were able to find formulas of understanding in this regard.

The “second failure,” according to Al-Maliki, is embodied in the government’s inability to control the ports and informal trade. It has failed to unify customs policy and prevent informal ports in the Kurdistan Region, which includes more than 32 informal ports.

The third failure, MP Al-Maliki says, is the failure to address the issue of small traders, whose number exceeds 400,000 traders in Iraq, who rely on the parallel dollar to avoid official procedures and taxes.

Regarding the fourth failure, the government and the Central Bank, according to Maliki’s statement, failed to address the problem of speculation and commissions in banks, as banks buy the dollar at the official price and sell it at higher prices without any legal accountability.

Finally, the fifth failure, according to the statement, is embodied in turning the file of providing travelers with dollars into a corruption case that cost 600 billion dinars, as dollars are collected for fictitious travel purposes without verifying the actual need for travel.

Al-Maliki added that these points represent the most prominent reasons for the continuation of the exchange rate crisis and the waste of money, pointing out that Arab and foreign banks have entered the currency auction and increased their profits at the expense of Iraq.

The MP stressed that he will use all constitutional, legal and popular means to confront this failure and mismanagement, calling on MPs from other blocs to support these efforts in order to protect the interests of the Iraqi people.

For his part, MP Majid Shankali called on the Council of Ministers to take decisive and bold decisions related to the financial reality in Iraq.

In a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, Shankali stressed the necessity that these decisions be preceded by the process of building trust between the citizen and the banking system, which is currently suffering from a significant lack of this trust.

In this context, Shankali called for banning dealing and trading in dollars in buying and selling operations, in a step aimed at enhancing the use of the Iraqi dinar and reducing dependence on foreign currency. He also called for not allowing citizens to hoard amounts exceeding ten thousand dollars or its equivalent outside banks, in order to limit financial evasion and enhance official banking practices.

Shankali also stressed the need to encourage and stimulate electronic dealing in financial transactions, pointing out the need to start implementing these decisions gradually to avoid creating new crises, stressing that these procedures must be well thought out and based on gradual steps to ensure achieving the desired financial goals without causing additional problems for citizens.

Shafaq.com

US Ambassador to Iraq: We have provided more than $3 billion in aid to displaced persons and refugees

The US Ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, confirmed on Wednesday that her country has provided financial aid exceeding $3 billion to the displaced and refugees, expressing its rejection of forcing the displaced into camps or forcibly returning them to their homes.

Romanowski said in her speech during the ceremony announcing the guidelines for organizing refugee affairs in the Kurdistan Region, “After the events of the war against ISIS in 2014, we provided more than 3.6 billion in aid to the displaced and refugees.”

He added, “We worked with the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Iraqi government, international organizations, and the international community to deliver aid to displaced Iraqis and return them to their homes.”

The US Ambassador called on the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to work on returning the displaced to their homes “with all appreciation and respect,” adding: “They should not be pressured to remain in displacement camps, nor should they be pressured to forcibly return to their places of residence.”

Shafaq.com

The dollar is out of control in Iraq again

Iraqi markets witnessed a significant increase in the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar, as the price of one dollar reached 1515 dinars on Tuesday, amid expectations of a continued increase and warnings of its impact on the overall economic situation, after the exchange market witnessed stability during the past months at 1450 dinars.

Previous decisions by the US Treasury Department to impose sanctions on a number of Iraqi banks due to financial dealings with Iran and others linked to money laundering operations, caused a rapid reaction inside Iraq, leading to a decline in the value of the dinar, in addition to depositors flocking to the sanctioned banks to withdraw their money deposited in dollars.

On this point, economic expert Nasser Al-Kanani told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, “The reason for the rapid rise in the dollar price in the local market is the decision of the Central Bank of Iraq to prevent the granting of dollars to travelers through exchange companies and banks, and to limit this matter to delivering dollars exclusively at the airport and through government banks only.”

Al-Kanani explained that “this decision caused great confusion in the currency trading market and the work of companies, which led to a significant increase in demand for the dollar in the parallel market, which led to an increase in prices, and there is a very high possibility that this increase will continue daily and gradually, especially since the Central Bank’s decision will be implemented on the ground in the middle of this month.”

According to Al-Kanani, “controlling the exchange rate is done by restricting all transactions in dollars through the electronic platform of the Central Bank of Iraq, and ending dollarization in the Iraqi market and its commercial transactions. We also warn that this increase will have repercussions on the general economic situation and will contribute to increasing the prices of food and other materials in local markets in the coming few days.”

In addition, the Coordination Committee for Exchange Companies Demonstrations announced a general strike in the capital, Baghdad, and other governorates. The committee said in a statement that “due to the insistence of the Central Bank of Iraq on harming companies and pushing them to the forbidden and ignoring the legitimate demands submitted by exchange companies that are in accordance with the law, and after holding an expanded meeting of exchange companies, it was decided to start a general strike and complete closure.” The statement added that “the auction will be abstained from starting today, Wednesday, until further notice in all governorates.”

In contrast, the financial and economic advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, said in a statement commenting on the return of the dollar’s ​​rise, “The fixed exchange rate system in Iraq is based on an international reserves base that is the highest in the history of Iraq and its monetary policy, as foreign currency covers more than 100% of the total currency currently issued.”

Saleh added that “given the strength of the official central exchange market, the dollar-to-dinar exchange rate in the parallel market today in the country does not constitute any relative importance in influencing the stability of the general price level, which has become stable in its components and trends due to the influence of the official exchange rate factor currently dominating the financing of foreign trade (imports) and amounting to 1320 dinars per dollar, which is a stable trend for the exchange rate and around which the stable external value of the dinar revolves, which is embodied by the state of stability in the relative prices of goods and services to a large extent, as annual inflation in the country does not exceed 3%.”

He explained that “based on the above, and in light of the strength of the foreign reserves supporting the Iraqi dinar, the value of which as liquid foreign assets exceeds 100 billion dollars, the official exchange market, as a general trend, will remain dominant in containing any colored noise or ambiguous information that affects the parallel exchange market in short periods due to urgent international or regional political events here and there or in adapting some instructions regulating the monetary market.”

He stressed that “after the decline of the dollarization phenomenon in domestic transactions, especially in contracts, obligations and payments within the country since last year and its legal prohibition, the parallel exchange market has become such that its general effects today only form a narrow economic scope of prohibited transactions practiced by informal markets and at a rate of 10% of the total supply and demand transactions for the currency, and the stability of the dinar exchange rate that the country is witnessing even in the secondary markets above is a real and solid stability, rather it is derived from the strength of the impact of the price and quantitative factors of the monetary and financial policies and their integration in imposing overall price stability in the country and containing the inflationary expectations that were caused by the forces of the parallel exchange market during the past years.”

Saleh concluded by saying that the secondary (irregular) market, due to the freedom of external transfer, is under the influence of the official exchange market rate, whose operations are constantly expanding in favor of dealing at the fixed official exchange rate.

Although the government approved a package of financial measures, the most prominent of which was fixing the currency exchange rate at 1,320 dinars to the dollar, despite the passage of several months since this decision, the difference is still large between the official exchange rate adopted by the Central Bank of Iraq and the parallel market.

Rawabetcenter.com

Washington’s procrastination reveals the US administration’s intentions for a long-term occupation of Iraqi lands

The procrastination shown by the American side regarding the file of its forces inside Iraq indicates the existence of a plan that aims to continue the military presence and occupy Iraqi bases with strategic locations with the aim of achieving the interests of Washington and its allies in the region, especially the Zionist entity, in light of the current escalation that the region is witnessing.

Washington’s disregard for Iraqi demands for its forces to leave the country comes within a plan through which the American administration seeks to repeat the scenario of its agreement with Japan, under which American forces remained in this country for decades and to this day, at a time when the national forces and the Islamic resistance emphasize the importance of ending the American military presence inside Iraq, especially since it represents an occupation of the country and a factor of threat and destabilization of security, politics and society.

The national forces are working to exert pressure for the government to fulfill the demand to end the occupation’s presence on Iraqi soil. In this regard, Al-Fatah member Khaled Al-Saray told Al-Maalouma, “Discussing the American exit file is a very important file for the Iraqi side due to its negative repercussions, and serious work must be done to end it quickly, especially with the presence of the US Assistant Secretary of Defense in Iraq,” calling for exploiting this visit to clarify the reality of this presence and the benefit of its remaining in Iraq in light of the security situation that the country is witnessing thanks to the Popular Mobilization Forces and the security forces.”

He added, “The Iraqi national forces must unify their ranks, coordinate their positions, and unify their word in order to pressure the withdrawal of American forces from Iraqi territory, as this decision will end a dark era in the history of Iraq.”

It seems that political pressure on the government is not present at the present time, as the occupation forces are still present in Iraq without fulfilling the will of the people who reject their presence. The official of the northern organizations in the Badr Organization, Muhammad al-Bayati, told / Al-Maalouma / that “the procrastination shown by the American side, representing the international coalition forces, with the Iraqi side is intentional because it wants to stay for a longer period, exploiting the lack of seriousness and intensity in their demands to leave.”

He explained that “the withdrawal of the coalition forces, including the American forces, requires two things: the first is activating the decision of the House of Representatives and forcing the government to implement it, and the second is the availability of a complete will by the political forces to support the government in its negotiations with the American side strictly without providing any facilities for staying, especially since Iraq has become a politically and economically stable country.”

On the other hand, political researcher Saeed Al-Badri confirmed to Al-Maalouma that “America spoke publicly and confirmed that it will not delve into the issue of the withdrawal of its forces from Iraq or the scheduling of their withdrawal, whether the forces are American or international, and the transition to bilateral relations, except after the American elections are held.”

He added, “The Americans were clear about their forces in Iraq, as the issue of the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq was not discussed during Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s visit to Washington.”

He pointed out that “America seeks to keep its forces in Iraq, as is the case with their forces in Japan, and seeks to conclude an agreement with Baghdad like Washington’s agreement with Tokyo, so that these forces are not treated according to Iraqi laws, and these actions represent a violation of Iraq and its sovereignty.”

Almaalomah.me

Financial expert reveals reasons for dollar rise and expects new rise in exchange rate

The official spokesman for the currency market in Sulaymaniyah, Jabbar Kuran, revealed today, Tuesday, the reasons for the rise in the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar in the parallel market.

Jabbar Kuran said in a statement to Shafaq News Agency, “The issue of the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar is related to the financial measures taken by the Central Bank of Iraq.”

He added, “The Central Bank of Iraq took some good measures in the past, but the increase that has occurred now is due to other measures that the Central Bank has not taken yet, including that the bank decided that foreign dealings are not limited to the US dollar only, but this measure has not been taken yet, as well as not linking all banks to the electronic platform and stopping work on it with the exception of only seven banks, which do not accommodate the foreign trade exchange process that reaches about 50 billion dollars annually, and I do not expect that these seven banks will accommodate this volume of trade exchange.”

He pointed out that “one of the other reasons that led to the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar is the reduction in the injection of cash by the Central Bank of Iraq, except for this day.”

He explained that “the demand for the dollar these days is abnormal, and I do not expect that opening a window to exchange dollars for travelers at airports will be a reason for the rise in the dollar exchange rate, even though now is the travel season.”

He explained that “the large number of exchange offices and companies in Iraq and Kurdistan and the inability of the Central Bank of Iraq to meet their needs for the US dollar, as there are about 1,200 exchange companies in Iraq and about 2,500 companies in Kurdistan so far that have not merged with each other to reach about 400 actual companies, so all of these companies and offices need more than 50 million dollars daily.”

Kuran stressed that “the rise of the dollar this time is not linked to a political or economic crisis or external factors, but rather is linked to the measures of the Central Bank of Iraq, and it is possible that the bank will control this rise,” expecting the dollar exchange rate to rise to more than 150 thousand dinars for every 100 dollars, while ruling out at the same time that it will reach high levels as happened in the past periods.

Shafaq.com

Iranian President-elect: We attach great importance to great Iraq

Iranian President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed that his country pays great attention to Iraq, during a phone call with President Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, according to what was announced by official Iranian media today, Tuesday.

These media outlets said that the Iraqi president congratulated Pezeshkian on his victory in the Iranian elections, describing at the same time the relations between Iraq and Iran as “deep, strong, and in line with the interests of both countries.”

Rashid stressed his country’s interest in maintaining and strengthening these relations, as well as creating the basis for further cooperation in the near future.

For his part, Pezeshkian expressed his hope to deepen and develop these relations in the near future in cooperation with senior officials in the two countries.

“We attach great importance to the great country of Iraq,” the Iranian president-elect said, adding that “the two countries have common views and positions in many areas, which is suitable for deepening relations and developing cooperation.”

Yesterday, Monday, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani made a phone call to the Iranian President-elect, Masoud Pezeshkian, and extended an official invitation to him to visit Iraq.

Shafaq.com

Iraqi Dinar / US Dollar auction results for today 7-08-2024

Results of the foreign currency selling window for Monday 07/8/2024

Advertisement No. (5156)

The amount:

Total amounts of transfers abroad (transfers, credits)
257,755,912

Total cash withdrawals
17,910,000

Total total sales
275,665,912

Note that: The selling price of documentary credits and international settlements for electronic cards is ( 1310 ) dinars per dollar.

The selling price for transfer amounts abroad is ( 1310 ) dinars per dollar.
The cash selling price is ( 1305 ) dinars per dollar.

cbi.iq/currency_auction

Iraq is the fifth largest economy in the Arab world and the 52nd largest economy in the world

The American magazine “CEOWORLD” reported on Monday that Iraq ranked fifth in the Arab world and 52nd globally as the largest economy in the world in 2024.

According to the American magazine, despite growing concerns about rising prices, the United States has maintained its position as the largest economy in the world, with an impressive GDP of $28.78 trillion.

China follows with a massive GDP of $18.54 trillion, while Germany, meanwhile, has cemented its position as Europe’s economic leader with a GDP of $4.59 trillion, building on its manufacturing expertise and strong exports while overcoming additional challenges from energy supply issues related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The magazine showed that Japan ranks fourth with a GDP of $4.11 trillion, while India ranks fifth, as one of the fastest growing economies with a GDP of $3.94 trillion.

While Iraq ranked 52nd globally in terms of growth with a GDP of $265.894 million for the current year, the GDP for 2025 was estimated at $278.811 million, in 2026 at $292.147 million, in 2027 at $307.465 million, in 2028 at $325.197 million, and finally in 2029 at $345.074 million.

The magazine indicated that Iraq ranks fifth in the Arab world after Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Egypt and Algeria.

Shafaq.com

The dollar’s flight does not threaten the dinar.. Al-Sudani’s advisor dispels fears: The dollar system is a thing of the past

The financial and economic advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mazhar Mohammed Salih, commented on Monday on the return of the rise in the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar in local markets.

Saleh explained to Shafaq News Agency, “The fixed exchange rate system in Iraq is based on an international reserves base that is the highest in the history of Iraq and its monetary policy, as foreign currency covers more than 100% of the total currency currently issued.”

He added that “given the strength of the official central exchange market, the exchange rate of the dollar to the dinar in the parallel market today in the country does not constitute any relative importance in influencing the stability of the general price level, which has become stable in its components and trends due to the influence of the official exchange rate factor currently dominating the financing of foreign trade (imports) amounting to 1320 dinars per dollar, which is a stable trend for the exchange rate and around which the stable external value of the dinar revolves, which is embodied by the state of stability of the relative prices of goods and services to a large extent, as the annual inflation in the country does not exceed 3%.”

According to Saleh, based on the above, and in light of the strength of the foreign reserves supporting the Iraqi dinar, the value of which as liquid foreign assets exceeds $100 billion, the official exchange market, as a general trend, will remain dominant in containing any colored noise or ambiguous information that affects the parallel exchange market in short periods due to urgent international or regional political events here and there or in adapting some instructions regulating the monetary market.

Al-Sudani’s financial advisor said that after the decline of the dollarization phenomenon in domestic transactions, especially in contracts, obligations and payments inside the country since last year and its legal prohibition, the parallel exchange market has become such that its general effects today only form a narrow economic scope of prohibited transactions practiced by informal markets and at a rate of 10% of the total supply and demand transactions for the currency.

Saleh stressed that “the stability of the exchange rate of the dinar to the dollar that the country is witnessing, even in the secondary markets above, is a real and solid stability. Rather, it is derived from the strength of the impact of the price and quantity factors of the monetary and financial policies and their integration in imposing overall price stability in the country and containing the inflationary expectations that were caused by the forces of the parallel exchange market during the past years.”

The financial advisor concluded his speech by pointing out that “the secondary (irregular) market, due to the freedom of external transfer, is under the influence of the official exchange market rate, whose operations are constantly expanding in favor of dealing at the fixed official exchange rate.”

Shafaq.com