A NEW STATEMENT BY THE IRAQI CENTRAL GOVERNOR REGARDING THE DOLLAR EXCHANGE RATE, 23 OCT

 A NEW STATEMENT BY THE IRAQI CENTRAL GOVERNOR REGARDING THE DOLLAR EXCHANGE RATE

Today, Monday (October 16, 2023), the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, identified several factors affecting the dollar exchange rate, the most important of which is the leakage of the dollar to neighboring countries.

(This leakage has to STOP or we will NOT see the reinstatement. The governor must secure the dollar in his country first and then use the dinar as the national currency. The later part is working but the sifting of the dollar outside of Iraq is not. 

Oh…I got a solution…why not reinstate the dinar so Iraq could more “freely” pay for goods and services with other countries with their own dinar and totally ditch the dollar the damned currency auction? Afterall weren’t’ the currency auctions supposed to be instituted as part of the Chapter VII sanctions? Go read the sanctions if you don’t believe me! So wy are they still being sanctioned? I thought Chapter VII sanctions were lifted? )

During his attendance at the meeting of the Ministerial Council for the Economy, headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fouad Hussein, and hosting the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Al-Alaq provided “a detailed explanation of the tasks and objectives of the Central Bank and monetary policy in Iraq,” noting, “The exchange rate depends primarily on imports and not on local production, and that The exchange rate in Iraq has characteristics because it is linked to the price of oil, as it is the largest source of providing hard currency.”

He pointed out, “Many factors affect the exchange rate, the most important of which is the leakage of the dollar into neighboring countries and internal dealing in local markets in a currency other than the national currency, as well as the lack of complete control over ports and smuggling.”

Al-Alaq added, “The level of inflation has decreased significantly, and the goods that enter officially are witnessing price stability because imports are covered by the official price.”

Al-Alaq noted, “We opened a special lounge for private banks to sell dollars to travelers at Baghdad International Airport, and we raised the interest rate for amounts deposited in banks to 7.5 percent to encourage citizens to deposit their amounts in banks and to withdraw the cash mass outside the banks.”

After “substantive and serious discussions,” the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs indicated that the Council will study in detail this important issue and will follow up on the localization of salaries for all workers in the government sector and then the mixed sector, reaching the private sector, and study increasing the interest rate on deposits, adding, “We are looking forward to building tools.” A future basis that helps the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance assume their role in a way that is appropriate to the nature of their work.

The Council also decided to proceed with the construction of a project to demolish and build a 600-bed Ibn Sina Specialized Hospital in Nineveh Governorate to serve the people of that governorate.