Sunday Afternoon Iraq Economic News Highlights 7-30-23

Adviser To The Prime Minister: Measures To Stabilize The Dollar Exchange Rates

Money  and business  Economy News _ Baghdad  Today, Sunday, the financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, announced a movement to stabilize the dollar exchange rates, stressing the provision of soft financing operations for importers at the official exchange rate.

Saleh said, in an interview with the Iraqi News Agency, followed by "Al-Iqtisad News", that "the foreign trade of small merchants constitutes the highest number in the import commercial market activity, and its rate may reach 60 percent of the local market's needs for imported goods."

He added, "With the aim of dismantling the monopolistic financing trade ring to finance foreign trade and the entirety of external transfer operations resulting as dangerous mediating forces that carry a lot of colored noise between the small trader and the financing of trade in foreign currency, whether in the position of international compliance or the disposal of foreign currency outside the stability controls, in addition to its danger in spreading A dangerous pricing pattern based on floating the prices of goods and services at the parallel market exchange rate, which leads to a dangerous transfer of inflation from the exchange market to the general level of prices and endless price disturbances.

Therefore, the Iraqi Trade Bank works with direct openness in providing soft financing operations for small importers and at the official exchange rate outside the loop. the monopolist".

He pointed out, "This matter will lead to providing a flexible commodity supply and help to establish stability in the parallel exchange market, in addition to removing the forces of commercial monopoly from the most dangerous mediation process between small traders and the exchange market, in a way that achieves stable competitiveness in which the parallel exchange rate matches the official exchange rate." gradually".   0 views   07/30/2023    https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=35402

Economist: The Recent Measures Of The Government And The Central Bank Will Contribute To Raising The Value Of The Dinar Against The Dollar

Policy  Economic expert Abd al-Rahman al-Mashhadani confirmed that the recent government measures, in addition to those of the Central Bank, will contribute to raising the value of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar.

Al-Mashhadani, in a statement to Dijla, indicated that “the sanctions of the US Treasury against the 14 banks were taken by the government, upon the direction of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani, to build a transfer of 116 exchange companies that were receiving their weekly shares of dollars from the punished banks to other banks, which will necessarily lead to an increase in the value of the Iraqi dinar.”  

Al-Mashhadani added, "These measures, if they are actually applied and continued, will push the value of the dollar down further against the Iraqi dinar, and the actual value may reach 140,000 dinars."  ]https://www.dijlah.tv/index.php?page=article&id=332364

The Iraqis Spent 3.4 Billion Dollars In Iran In 2022!...Another Reason For The High Price Of The Dollar

Economy  2023-07-30 |Source:  2,703 views  Alsumaria News – Economy  Economic expert Nabil Al-Marsoumi considered, today, Sunday, July 30, 2023, that tourism is another source for the high price of the parallel dollar, while Iraqi tourists spent $3.410 billion in Iran during the past year 2022.

Al-Marsoumi mentioned in a post entitled "Tourism is another source of the parallel dollar's high price," which I followed  Alsumaria News  And that "Iraqis accounted for 55% of the total number of foreign tourists who entered Iran in 2022," noting that "foreign tourists spent 6.2 billion dollars in Iran in 2022, while Iraqi tourists spent 3.410 billion dollars in 2022."

He added, "Because of the US sanctions that do not allow Iraqi travelers to Iran to convert the dinar into dollars at the official rate, the Iraqis are forced to request or buy the dollar, which is a real request and not for the purposes of speculation at the parallel price, so the gap between it and the official rate widens."

 The official exchange rate is 1320 dinars to the dollar in the Iraqi budget, but the parallel rate witnessed a strong rise in the Iraqi markets during the past days, reaching 157 thousand dinars per hundred dollars.

This comes after the United States  imposed sanctions on 14 Iraqi banks, in a campaign against Iran's dealings in dollars.

The Iraqi parliament moved to address the crisis, and the Finance Committee hosted the governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alaq, to​​also discuss the bank's measures to stabilize currency prices.

Almost since the beginning of this year, the Central Bank of Iraq  launched a working mechanism in an electronic platform and the international financial transfer system "SWIFT", but this did not help the dollar exchange rates to stabilize in Iraq, despite the attempts of the government and the central bank to control the exchange rate in the parallel (black) markets. ).  LINK

Barzani Imposes Control Over Areas Outside The Borders Of The Region And Seizes Its Wealth

Information / Baghdad... Peshmerga forces continue to impose their control over many areas outside the borders of the region, although they are areas not under the authority of the Kurdistan government, as there is no justification for continuing control, other than obtaining oil wealth in Nineveh Governorate, as is the case with some areas in Kirkuk, despite the demands for those forces to leave the areas they control to ensure the return of the people there and to hand over its authority to the federal government.

The representative of the province of Niveh, Abd al-Rahim al-Shammari, told Al-Maalouma, that "a delegation went to the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani, in order to withdraw the Peshmerga forces from the areas over which it imposes its control in the province of Nineveh, and this was done in 2018 and promised to return those areas."

To its people, and this was repeated when the delegation also went in 2020 and 2023 and promised the same words, but Barzani, despite the delegations that met him and the promises he made to them, but they were not implemented and the Peshmerga forces did not withdraw from the lands they control in Nineveh Governorate,

"pointing out that "The people of the areas controlled by the aforementioned forces resorted to the method of demonstration and organizing vigils in order to meet their demands for the Peshmerga to leave their areas, and they promised to escalate in the event that their demands were not implemented, especially since those forces control villages in Rabia, from Mahmoudiya, Cairo, Safia, as well as in Zummar, such as Al-Sheehan, Jadiriya, and villages In al-Hamdaniya, Wana, Tilkaif and Makhmour. 

On the other hand, former MP Ghaleb Muhammad Ali told Al-Maalouma that "there is a group of oil fields under the control of the regional government and located within the areas of Article 140, including the Safiya and Ain Zala fields, but the latter has returned to the control of the federal government, in addition to that there are a number of The wells, including the Bay Hassan field, which is under the control of the militias of the Barzani family, as its revenues do not enter the regional government or the federal government,

if the aforementioned family still controls them even though they are outside the map of the region’s fields,” explaining that “Neichirvan Barzani had an agreement with the Turkish BOTAS company in the previous period With the aim of exporting 30 percent of the region's oil to the Zionist entity, in addition to exporting oil to any other country in return for Ankara obtaining certain sums in return for the export. 

On the other hand, the spokesman for the Arab Council in Kirkuk, Azzam al-Hamdani, confirmed to Al-Maalouma that "there are fears of the military entry of the Peshmerga in conjunction with the restoration of the political work of the party in Kirkuk, as the Arab component rejects national conflicts supported by armed arms," ​​noting that "The Democratic Party is trying to consolidate the identity of Kirkuk in Kurdistan."    LINK

Politician: All Turkish Dams On The Iraqi Border Are Funded By Zionism

Information / Baghdad .. The political observer, Muhammad Kazem, revealed, on Sunday, that the Zionist entity had financed the construction of all dams built on the Iraqi-Turkish border.

  Kazem said in a statement to Al-Maalouma, that "Turkey has built several dams to withhold water from Iraq and deprive it of its water share as a means of pressure," noting that "most of these dams are funded by the Zionist entity and the United States of America, foremost of which is the Ataturk Dam, known as the GAP Dam. The largest Turkish dams built on the Euphrates River.

He added that " the Zionist and American financing of the Turkish side to build dams is a weapon used to subjugate Iraq and drag it to normalization with the Zionist entity , in addition to the presence of Turkish ambitions in the north of Iraq . "

It is clear, Kazem, that "the Iraqi government can get out of the water crisis in many ways, including the use of the economic card, as the trade exchange between us is more than 17 billion dollars annually, especially since Turkey is living in a suffocating economic crisis, as well as turning to international organizations such as the United Nations, the International Security Council and the Court of Justice International, because international law allows us to obtain water quotas determined within the law of the riparian countries. LINK

The Dollar And Electricity Ignite Tomorrow's Session.. Parliament Complained About Delaying The Implementation Of The Budget

Information / Baghdad .. A member of the State of Law Coalition, MP Muhammad al-Ziyadi, expressed, on Sunday, his discontent with the government’s failure with several files, most notably the failure to implement the budget and the failure to address the rise in dollar prices and the electricity crisis, stressing that Parliament is determined to get out of the agenda of tomorrow’s session and go to solve the crises.

Al-Ziyadi said, in a statement to Al-Maalouma, that "the representatives are determined to ask several questions inside the parliament dome, away from the paragraphs of the parliament's agenda," noting that "tomorrow's session will be a heated session and a parliamentary revolution."

He added, "The proposals that will be presented are related to not launching the budget for a moment, the issue of banks, and the extent of the seriousness of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank in addressing the continued high exchange rate of the dollar and its impact on the standard of living of citizens, as well as insisting on hosting the Minister of Finance to learn about the steps that the ministry is taking to reduce water scarcity,

In addition to asking the government for what it has implemented from the government program, in addition to the hot and intractable file of electricity.

Al-Ziyadi explained that "these files are the challenges we face, and the parliamentarian must know what is going on in terms of solutions to them without limiting them to a small group of politicians and not caring about the people's representatives," noting that "we are not against the government, but we must know what has been achieved and what are the procedures to face the challenges of the necessary files." Foremost among them is the issue of electricity, water scarcity, and the continued rise in the exchange rate of the dollar.    LINK

3 Officials Explain The US Ambassador's Tweet About The Dollar: The Exchange Rate Will Be 145

SAT, 07-29-2023, TAYSEER AL-ASADI  An advisor to the Prime Minister and a former official in the Central Bank and academics said that the US ambassador’s tweet about a dialogue between Baghdad and Washington regarding the dollar means that the US Treasury Department has become “convinced” of the procedures of the Central Bank of Iraq, and they expected that the fluctuation wave in the exchange rate would end, to return to touching 145 dinars. .

d said. Mahmoud Dagher - Academician and former Central Bank official to Network 964: The relationship between the Central Bank and international parties is strong, given that most of our trade, revenues, and investments are in dollars. He explained that the measures taken against the 14 banks are not sanctions, as the American ambassador said, but only restricted the dealings of these banks.

 Many currencies, including the dollar, because most banks in the world do not want to deal with banks against which there are restrictive measures.

The rise in the exchange rate is a reaction to the restriction of the 14 banks.

He added, "I think now that there is a decrease in the exchange rate, but I confirm that it will not return to the official rate, which is 1,320 dinars, as long as part of the dollar sales goes to finance trade with the penalized countries." Less than 150 thousand, provided that some statements do not affect the monetary market.

As for Sabhan Mulla Jiyad - the Sudanese political advisor, he said: I think there is an understanding between the Central Bank of Iraq and the US Treasury, and it is clear that the treasury did not put other banks on the list as it was rumored. Enter the coin auction.

He also said that I expect stability in the exchange rate, and a return to 150 thousand dinars to the dollar, and it may decrease more during this week.

As for Abd al-Rahman al-Mashhadani - an economist and academic, he stated to the same source that I have reservations about the measures taken by the Central Bank, which were praised by Ambassador Romansky. The sanctions are not the first of their kind, and all banks were punished for the same reasons, which are currency smuggling and money laundering operations.

And he said, after the issuance of sanctions from the US Treasury, the Central Bank was supposed to not be satisfied with removing these banks from the currency window and dealing in dollars, it had to request documents from the US Treasury, in order for comprehensive investigations to be carried out, if these banks were accused, then this is a disaster, but to take The central bank measures above treasury measures, as this is incorrect behavior. Noting that despite my reservations about the Central Bank's procedures, I expect a gradual decrease in the exchange rate to 154 or 155 thousand dinars per 100 dollars.

He added, "I believe that the transfer of 116 exchange companies to other non-punished banks has limited the possibility of the exchange rate exceeding 160,000 dinars, and perhaps within a week we may see a return to the exchange rate to 147,000 dinars." Follow ups  https://non14.net/public/158899