Iraqi News Highlights and Points to Ponder Tuesday AM 12-19-23
Iraqi News Highlights and Points to Ponder Tuesday AM 12-19-23
Morning List Of Dollar Exchange Rates In Iraqi Markets.. Recorded A Decrease
Economy | 8,160 views Al-Sumaria News – Economy Al-Sumaria News publishes the exchange rates of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar in the Iraqi local markets for Tuesday, December 19, 2023.
Dollar prices fell with the opening of the Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges, recording 154,000 dinars compared to 100 dollars. As for the selling prices in banking shops in the local markets in...Baghdad It decreased as the selling price reached 155,000 Iraqi dinars, while the purchasing price reached 153,000 dinars per 100 dollars. On February 7, the Council of Ministers announced its approval of amending the dollar exchange rate to 1,320 dinars per dollar.
About a year ago, specifically since the Central Bank began working on the electronic platform and the international financial transfer system “Swift" (SWIFT), the dollar exchange rates were not witnessed in Iraq stability despite the attempts of the government and the Central Bank to control the exchange rate in parallel markets. LINK
French Report: Dollar Restrictions Confuse The Lives Of Iraqis Due To “Monetary Sovereignty”
Posted On12-17-2023 By Sotaliraq 2023-12-17 A French report highlighted the deficit in Iraqi citizens’ withdrawals of money transferred to them from outside the country, months ago, because it was sent to them in US dollars, after the authorities imposed new restrictions that complicate the use of hard currencies, in their attempt to control a black market for the exchange rate, in a measure considered... A paradox in a country rich in oil, which has huge hard currency reserves exceeding one hundred billion.
According to a report published by Agence France-Presse, and viewed by Shafaq News Agency, the emergence of a parallel exchange market, and the authorities’ imposition of restrictions within the framework of strengthening banking supervision in compliance with international rules imposed by Washington, have complicated the daily lives of residents.
The official exchange rate is 1,320 dinars to one dollar, but among money changers, the price of one dollar is equal to 1,500 dinars and may reach 1,600. Currency exchange offices have become very cautious with customers, after the arrest of dozens of money changers accused of manipulating prices, according to the report.
The Central Bank of Iraq announced in a previous statement that it had decided, as of January, “to limit all commercial and other transactions to the Iraqi dinar instead of the dollar” inside the country.
Monetary Sovereignty”
While the dollar can be withdrawn in cash from previously existing deposits in hard currency naturally, starting in 2024, it will become necessary to withdraw every money transfer from abroad in dinars exclusively, and according to the official exchange rate.
The Prime Minister’s Advisor for Financial Affairs, Mazhar Saleh, confirms that “this is the rule that is part of monetary sovereignty, but there are exceptions,” which especially include embassies.
He adds: “We are strengthening what is called monetary sovereignty... It is not possible to deal with two currencies within the national economy.” However, these restrictions raise controversy and hinder the daily life of Iraqis, according to Agence France-Presse.
Direct transfers outside banks have become impossible in dollars, and are limited to dinars at the official rate. The banking sector in Iraq has also adopted an electronic platform, the aim of which is to monitor the uses of the dollar and tighten control over a thriving informal economy, while tax evasion attracts some importers and traders.
The Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, acknowledged that with the new measures, the cash supply in hard currency available in the market has declined from “200 to 300 million dollars” per day to “30, 40, and 50 million dollars.”
Last September, Al-Sudani said that merchants who deal with Iran are forced to turn to the parallel market to obtain currency, given that Iran is a country “that has sanctions and is not allowed to conduct financial transfers.”
At the same time, he confirmed that the central banks of Iraq and Iran are discussing a “mechanism” to “regulate trade,” which would “split the back of the parallel market.”
“Suspicious trade”
Late last November, the government announced facilities to encourage importers of cigarettes, cars, gold, and mobile phones to obtain foreign currency through official channels.
As for bilateral exchanges, the authorities encourage banks and importers to use currencies other than the dollar, such as the euro, the UAE dirham, or the Chinese yuan.
The Prime Minister’s advisor, Mazhar Salih, defended the banking restrictions aimed at “verifying these transfers,” with the aim of reassuring “the international financial community, and also for reasons related to Iraqi society: Do these transfers actually go to finance Iraq’s trade?”
Saleh added: “What is happening has nothing to do with the strength of the Iraqi economy. Iraq today is at the highest levels of foreign reserves in its financial history.” Rather, “structural changes have occurred in issues of dealing with foreign currency.”
He also mentioned that in order to protect the country with a population of 43 million people from inflation, importers have access to the dollar and buy it at the official rate, which is more beneficial.
This concerns especially foodstuffs, medicines and building materials. Saleh believes that this “creates an atmosphere of stability, which is contrary to the parallel market.” LINK
Parliamentary Oil: We Are Determined To Legislate Oil And Gas During The Current Session
Today 12:40 Information / Baghdad.. Member of the Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee, Kazem Al-Touki, confirmed on Tuesday that there is a trend within the House of Representatives to legislate the oil and gas law, pointing out that legislating the law is very important for regulating the oil relationship.
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Al-Touki said in an interview with the Maalouma Agency, “Parliament is waiting to send the draft oil and gas law in order to proceed with its legislation.”
He added that “the coalition of state administration is unanimous in legislating the law during the current parliamentary session as it is one of the important laws agreed upon,” noting that “there is communication between the legislative and executive authorities in order to expedite sending the law to ensure that each governorate obtains its entitlement to oil and gas.” .
The representative of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Nermin Maarouf, had previously revealed the existence of a new round of negotiations between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve the outstanding differences between the two parties and reach long-term strategic agreements. LINK
Provoking Points To Ponder on Family:
A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no aw, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path. - Agatha Christie
Mother love has been much maligned. An over mothered boy may go through life expecting each new woman to love him the way his mother did. Her love may make any other love seem inadequate. But an unloved boy would be even more likely to idealize love. I don't think it's possible for a mother or father to love a child too much. - Frank Pittman
Unconditional love is loving your kids for who they are, not for what they do ... it isn't something you will achieve every minute of every day. But it is the thought we must hold in our hearts every day. - Stephanie Marston
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. - Henry Ward Beecher
Where does the family start? It starts with a young man falling in love with a girl - no superior alternative has yet been found. - Winston Churchill
Of course if you like your kids, if you love them from the moment they begin, you yourself begin all over again, in them and with them. - William Saroyan
You can see them alongside the shuffleboard courts in Florida or on the porches of the old folks' homes up north.... They are in love, they have always been in love, although sometimes they would have denied it. And because they have been in love they have survived everything that life could throw at them, even their own failures. - Ernest Havemann
In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony. - Eva Burrows
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