Iraq's gold reserves surge to 163 tons: PM advisor

ERBIL, Kurdistan  Region - Iraq’s gold reserves have increased by about 10 tons, but its foreign currency reserves are down, an advisor to the prime minister told Rudaw on Saturday.

 

Iraq's gold reserves have "increased significantly from 152.6 tons" last October to "163 tons" today, said Mazhar Mohammed Salih, an economic advisor to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani.

 

Iraq holds the 29th largest gold reserves globally and the fourth largest in the Arab world, according to the World Gold Council.

 

"Having these reserves indicates Iraq's strong financial and economic stability," Salih said, adding that Baghdad's abundant reserves "could lead to encouraging foreign investment and securing a lasting economic infrastructure for our country."

 

Foreign currency reserves, however, stood at "around $100 billion, down by eight billion dollars compared with October last year," he said.

 

Iraq's foreign currency reserves consist of the US dollar, euro, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, and the British pound.

 

Iraq's economy has shown signs of stabilization in 2025, with inflation dropping by 21 percent and gold reserves seeing a significant increase, according to a July report from the Central Bank of Iraq. The country is, however, grappling with a persistent budget deficit.