Iraq surpasses Saudi Arabia in oil exports to America
1/4/2025
The US Energy Information Administration announced on Saturday that Iraq surpassed Saudi Arabia in oil exports to the United States during the past week.
The administration stated in a table seen by Shafaq News Agency, that
"the average US imports of crude oil during the past week from 9 major countries amounted to 5.765 million barrels per day, down by 79 thousand barrels per day from the previous week, which amounted to 5.844 million barrels per day."
She added that "Iraq's oil exports to America reached 212 thousand barrels per day last week, down by 17 thousand barrels per day from the previous week, which reached 229 thousand barrels per day, thus exceeding Saudi Arabia, whose exports to America reached only 87 thousand barrels."
The administration indicated that "the largest oil revenues for America during the past week came from Canada at a rate of 3.733 million barrels per day, followed by Mexico at an average of 551 thousand barrels per day, then Venezuela at an average of 353 thousand barrels per day, and Colombia at an average of 289 thousand barrels per day."
According to the table, "the amount of US imports of crude oil from Brazil amounted to 280 thousand barrels per day, from Libya it was at a rate of 189 thousand barrels per day, and from Nigeria at a rate of 71 thousand barrels per day.
A fair amount of people think the auctions have ended. This article right here will crush and destroy that theory. Article: "The central bank sells more than a billion dollars in just 4 days"
This article is very clear. The only changes that have occurred regarding the auctions is they're no longer having or holding cash withdrawal inside the country of Iraq. They're still auctioning off currency abroad to overseas banks and they may have transitioned to a new financial system. Regardless, the important step in this is that the banking reforms are now getting implemented. That's a critical step to this.
FRANK26: "STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS UNTIL WE GET A NEW EXCHANGE RATE PLEASE???"........F26
"Oil and Gas Law" resolves pending issues between Baghdad and Erbil
1/4/2025
Oil and Gas Committee in the Iraqi Parliament considered, on Saturday, that the agreement on the draft "Oil and Gas Law" and sending it from the government to the parliament will contribute to resolving many of the pending issues between Baghdad and Erbil.
Committee member Bassem Al-Gharibawi told Shafak News Agency, "Agreeing on the draft oil and gas law and approving it in the Council of Ministers and then sending it to Parliament will contribute to resolving many of the outstanding problems between the federal and regional governments."
According to Al-Gharibawi, the government had previously formed a committee headed by the Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, and the Iraqi SOMO Company to negotiate with the regional government regarding amending the disputed articles and preparing a final version of the oil and gas law.
He added, "The Parliamentary Oil Committee hosted a number of officials from the Ministry of Oil during the previous legislative session, and discussed the formulas and articles that require amendment to the Oil and Gas Law."
Last week, Iraqi economic expert, Nabil Al-Marsoumi, revealed that 9 foreign companies were demanding compensation amounting to 24 billion dollars resulting from the halt in oil exports after the Iraqi judiciary rejected the appeal of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to cancel these companies’ contracts with the Kurdistan Region.
The Karkh Court of Appeal rejected an appeal submitted by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and overturned previous rulings that declared the contracts of foreign companies with the Kurdistan Region invalid .
According to the court, contracts are considered “valid,” enforceable, and binding on both parties, and no party outside the contract has the right to object to them, even if they are based on a legal basis that the Federal Supreme Court in Iraq deemed unconstitutional in February 2022 .
The court explained in the reasons on which it relied that the decision of the Federal Supreme Court issued in February 2022 cannot be applied to contracts concluded before its issuance, in accordance with a general principle in Iraqi civil law.
FIREFLY: Mr. Sammy just left my place. He told me, I want you to understand that what we are seeing on TV right now about bringing in the notes, it's like a clean sweep to get the old notes out, the damaged notes back and the counterfeit notes off the street before the rate hits.
This will allow all these notes collected to get into the electronic system...
Mr Sammy says we are officially category A currency now...It was category C which was less desirable ... That was required also for the WTO introduction...
All these smaller exchange companies that have recently been licensed are now being linked to the big boy exchange companies. That all leads to something big is coming.
Global currency struggles: A look at the world's weakest currencies in 2024
Shafaq News/ The list of the weakest currencies against the US dollar saw minimal changes over the past year, though the rankings shifted for some countries.
Arab currencies also featured prominently among the worst performers this year, with the Lebanese pound and Egyptian pound making the list. Zimbabwe’s gold-backed currency, the "ZimDollar," topped the ranking with a staggering 954.2% decline.
Lebanese Pound: The Lebanese pound experienced one of its worst years, with its value against the dollar rising by approximately 500%, reaching 89,560 pounds per dollar on the parallel market. This devaluation aligns with International Monetary Fund (IMF) requirements to address Lebanon’s banking and economic crises.
In May 2024, the IMF highlighted those policies implemented by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, including phasing out budget financing, scrapping the "Sayrafa" exchange platform, adopting tighter fiscal policies, and unifying exchange rates, helped stabilize the pound, curb inflation, and contain monetary supply pressures.
Iranian Rial: Once the weakest currency in the world, the Iranian rial now ranked third, reflecting the enduring impact of US sanctions following the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal.
In 2024, the rial weakened marginally by 0.21% against the dollar, reaching 42,090 rials per dollar. However, regional tensions, particularly in Syria and the Middle East, pose further risks to the currency.
Vietnamese Dong: The Vietnamese dong (VND) came fourth among the world’s weakest currencies, largely due to restrictions on foreign exports, which also saw a decline in volume. In response, Vietnam’s central bank devalued the currency to boost export competitiveness.
Over the past year, the dong weakened 4.46% against the dollar, closing at 25,460 dongs per dollar.
Sierra Leonean Leone: Ranked fifth, Leone is impacted by high debt levels, inflation, slow economic growth, and the lasting effects of health crises like the Ebola outbreak.
The Leone depreciated 1.43% against the dollar in 2024, reaching 22,790 leones per dollar.
Lao Kip: The Lao Kip (LAK), placed as the sixth weakest currency globally, is facing challenges such as high inflation, slow economic growth, and mounting external debt.
In 2024, the kip depreciated by 6.44%, with the dollar trading at 21,820 kips.
Indonesian Rupiah: Indonesia’s dependence on imported goods, including crude oil, made it highly vulnerable to global inflation, driving up costs and exacerbating the country’s trade deficit.
The rupiah came seventh, as weakened by 4.86% against the dollar in 2024, closing at 16,220 rupiahs per dollar.
Syrian Pound: Despite slight improvements in late 2024 following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the Syrian pound ranked eighth among the weakest currencies, trading at 13,000 pounds per dollar. The prolonged 14-year conflict has left devastating effects on Syria’s economy.
Uzbekistani Som: Ranked ninth, the Uzbek Som continues to face challenges, including high unemployment, inflation, sluggish economic growth, and persistent corruption.
The som weakened by 4.59% against the dollar in 2024, reaching 12,900 Soms per dollar.
Guinean Franc: The Guinean franc, placed tenth, has struggled since the political conflicts of the 1990s, weakened by military unrest and high inflation. However, recent signs of recovery have emerged.
The franc depreciated 1.61% against the dollar in 2024, trading at 8,645 francs per dollar.
Paraguayan Guarani: Paraguay’s currency came in the 11th rank. It suffers from ongoing inflation, unemployment, corruption, and counterfeit money circulation, keeping it among the world’s weakest currencies.
The Guarani depreciated 7.55% against the dollar in 2024, trading at 7,800 Guaranis per dollar.