Thursday Afternoon Iraq Economy News Highlights 7-7-22

Parliamentary Oil Confirms The End Of The Gasoline Crisis

Posted On 2022-07-07 By Sotaliraq   Baghdad/Bright news  The Oil and Energy Committee in the House of Representatives talked about the end of the gasoline shortage at the stations.

Committee member Dakhil Radi said, in an interview with Al-Mada, that "the fuel crisis was temporary and ended, and currently the central and southern governorates do not suffer from a problem in equipping cars with gasoline."  Radi added, "The situation has become normal and has returned to what it was in the past about a week ago," noting that "the crisis lasted from three to four days."

He pointed out, "The security services succeeded in controlling the ports through which oil derivatives can be transported in a way that violates the law."

And Rady said, "The issue was not smuggling in the strict sense, but rather a sale to stations in the Kurdistan region because of the price difference."

And he believed, "The crisis in some of its joints is fabricated, due to the dispute between the owners of the stations and the General Directorate of Oil Products regarding the quantities supplied and their prices."

Radi confirmed, "An agreement has occurred between the two parties in the presence of representatives of the House of Representatives, but this agreement was not activated, and the results of the lack of agreement on the work of the stations appeared."

He pointed out, "The media exaggerated what happened and made the citizens accept the stations a lot."

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Kurdistan Regional Government: We Will Not Yield To Any Pressure And Threat From The Federal Government

Posted On 2022-07-07 By Sotaliraq   The Kurdistan Regional Council of Ministers announced that it “will not in any way give up the constitutional rights and entitlements, and will not succumb to any pressure and threat from the Iraqi federal government aimed at violating the rights of the people of Kurdistan.”

A statement was issued by the Kurdistan Region Council of Ministers meeting today, Wednesday (July 6, 2022), which was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, and with the participation of the Deputy Chairman of the Council, Qubad Talabani.

The statement issued by the Kurdistan Regional Government meeting stated: “The Council of Ministers reiterates that it will not in any way waive the constitutional rights and entitlements of the people of the Kurdistan Region, and will defend in every way the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan Region and will not succumb to any pressure and threat from the federal government with the aim of violating the rights of the Kurdistan Region.” The people of Kurdistan.”

According to the statement, the head of the Cabinet Office presented the constitutional, judicial and legal steps taken by the Kurdistan Regional Government in the face of the pressures of the Iraqi Federal Ministry of Oil on the conferees, noting that “the federal government, unfortunately, took the decision to stop the disbursement of the share of the Kurdistan Region in an unconstitutional manner, and is exercising illegal pressure to cut The road to the imports that the Kurdistan Region derives from oil and local revenues, which do not constitute any financial burden on the federal government.”

The Kurdistan Regional Council of Ministers stressed the solution to the outstanding problems between it and the Iraqi federal government, "including the problems related to oil and gas under the constitution, in a manner that defines the rights and duties of each party."

The statement indicated that the cabinet meeting discussed the revenues and expenditures of the Kurdistan Regional Government, noting that the ninth cabinet of the Kurdistan Regional Government secured the salaries of the first six months of 2022 from oil revenues, “while the federal government had to spend one trillion and 200 billion dinars to the Kurdistan Region in the first six months of 2022, It spent only 400 billion dinars for the region.”

In its statement, the Kurdistan Regional Council of Ministers said that in addition to securing the salaries of employees, the ninth cabin was able, during its three years of life, to pay one and a half billion dollars in debts to the government, “in addition to securing gas for electric power production plants for the first six months of 2022, and the cost of securing this The gas from the Kormore field for these stations amounted to $566 million, in addition to the operating expenses of these stations, which during the six months amounted to $516 million.”

The Kurdistan Regional Council of Ministers statement also pointed out that subsidizing the price of gasoline and securing gasoline at a price of 800 dinars per liter, while one liter costs the government 1200 dinars, as well as providing gas for domestic use to citizens at a subsidized price.  LINK

For The Third Day In A Row .. A Significant Decline In Gold Prices In The Iraqi Markets

Shafaq News/ "Foreign and Iraqi" gold prices in the local markets declined significantly for the third consecutive day, today, Thursday, (June 7, 2022).

Shafak News Agency correspondent said that gold prices in the wholesale markets on Al-Nahr Street in the capital, Baghdad, recorded this morning, the selling price of one weight of 21 karat of Gulf, Turkish and European gold is 358 thousand dinars, and the purchase price is 354 thousand, while the prices recorded yesterday morning, Wednesday, 363 thousand dinars. .

Our correspondent indicated that the sale price of one 21-carat weight of Iraqi gold also decreased at 318 thousand dinars, and the purchase price reached 314 thousand.

With regard to gold prices in goldsmiths’ shops, the price of selling a weight of Gulf 21 karat gold ranges between 360 thousand and 370 thousand dinars, while the selling price ranged from an Iraqi gold weight between 320 thousand and 330 thousand dinars.  It is equal to one mithqal of gold (five grams).   LINK

For The First Time In Years... Iraqi Customs Revenues For The Month Of June Touched 100 Billion Dinars

Shafaq News/ The General Authority of Customs announced today, Wednesday, that the revenues for the month of June achieved a great leap that has not been recorded for years, reaching more than 99 billion dinars.

The authority said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, "This achievement was achieved despite zeroing customs duties for foodstuffs and construction materials and exempting them from fees according to the decision of the Council of Ministers."

On Tuesday (3/8/2022), the General Customs Authority announced the start of implementing the decision to zero fees for food and consumer goods.

The authority said in a statement, "Today, procedures for issuing circulars for the implementation of Resolution 72 of 2022, which include zeroing customs duties for basic food and consumer materials and building materials, were implemented in order to support the citizens' segment and the people's food, which affects their daily lives to meet the challenges of high prices."   LINK

After A Sharp Drop In Oil Prices, Will Iraq Play A Role In Increasing Production?

Shafaq News/ The economist, Manar Al-Obaidi, commented on Wednesday, on the possibility of Iraq playing a role in increasing oil production in the global market, after the sharp drop in crude prices.

Al-Obaidi told Shafaq News Agency, "Oil prices rose as a result of an emergency circumstance, which is the ban on Russian exports, which led to a reduction in supply versus demand and led to an increase in prices, and therefore it is not a normal supply and demand equation, but rather as a result of an emergency circumstance represented by war, and when the war stops, things will return." It is possible that prices will return to normal."

And at the level of Iraq, it faces challenges not only related to production, but also logistics. Despite the ability to increase production, but as a result of the limited absorptive capacity of loading ships with oil and the decline of export lines through Basra, it is not possible to rely on a significant increase in Iraq's exports that increases its ability to export Thus, it fills the deficit.

Yesterday evening, Tuesday, oil prices recorded a sudden sharp decline, despite recording an increase in the same morning compared to the previous day.

Brent crude fell $6.17, or 5.44%, to $107.33 a barrel by 12:15 GMT, and US West Texas Intermediate crude fell $5.18, or 4.78%, to $103.07 a barrel.   LINK

Iraq Tops The List Of Countries Importing The Most From Turkey Within 6 Months

Shafaq News/ Iraq topped the list of countries importing the most consumer goods and materials from Turkey during the first half of 2022.

This came according to a statistic published by the official "Anatolia" agency on Turkey's exports to neighboring countries, which it said amounted to $11.4 billion during the first six months of this year.

The agency said, quoting data from the Ministry of Commerce, that exports to Bulgaria, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Greece rose 25.4 percent during the mentioned period, compared to the same period last year.

Iraq topped the list of the most importing neighboring countries with 4 billion and 837 million dollars, and Bulgaria came second with two billion and 265 million, then Greece with one billion and 558 million, and Iran with one billion and 159 million dollars.

Georgia came in fifth place with 897 million and 740 thousand dollars, and Syria with 729 million and 928 thousand dollars.  He stated that the value of Turkish exports during the first 6 months of last year was 9 billion and 131 million dollars.

It is noteworthy that the total Turkish exports during the first half of this year set a record, reaching 126 billion dollars, an increase of 20 percent compared to the same period in 2021.   LINK

Parliament: Private Banks In Iraq Have Turned Into Shops That Drain Hard Currency By Smuggling It

Shafaq News/ The representative of the Al-Fateh Alliance, Aziz Sharif Al-Mayahi called, on Wednesday, the Central Bank of Iraq to reconsider the classification of private Iraqi banks and hold them accountable that did not provide any investment or economic benefits to Iraq, referring to some of those banks turned into "shops" to issue letters of guarantee. Taking high and large commissions, in addition to draining hard currency and smuggling it with false invoices.

Al-Mayahi said in a press statement, received by Shafak News Agency, that "there are many private banks led by a number of corruption mafias, which, unfortunately, have turned into shops for issuing letters of guarantee and taking high and large commissions that burden contractors, in addition to draining hard currency and smuggling it abroad and paying bills.

A fake to the Central Bank and speculation in the markets, which negatively affected the economic situation and harmed the Iraqi private sector, and established its wealth at the expense of Iraq and its people without presenting any investment or economic plans or projects that would benefit Iraq or reduce the suffering of the poor classes.

He added, "The Central Bank has previously worked on grading private banks according to what they offer, but unfortunately, we did not find any of those private banks that were granted advanced degrees any benefit to the country, and they did not have any positive role during the successive economic crises that engulfed the country." In the country, despite this, its wealth continues to grow from the country’s bounties without any account or supervision.”

He stressed the importance of returning the central bank to all its accounts in dealing with private banks and setting stricter controls in checking invoices sent from those banks, given that the volume of exports does not match the volume of hard currency leaving the country to sort out the lagging ones after giving them a time limit to rearrange their plans. Continued reluctance to work to withdraw licenses from them and oblige them to pay fines for the extent of the damage they caused to the Iraqi economy and the private sector.  LINK

A New Shock For The Iraqis.. Parliamentary Finance: 2022 Without A Budget - Urgent

Article at link   https://baghdadtoday.news/ar/news/194678/A