The rise in value came after the Iraqi council of ministers approved a decision from the board of directors of the Central Bank to set the mentioned exchange rate, after months of an ongoing depreciation led to a surge in prices of basic goods and consequent outcry of the Iraqi public.
Less than an hour after the decision from the council of ministers was announced, the exchange rate of $1 went from 1,560 IQD to 1,440 IQD in the currency markets of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
“We affirm our support for these efforts to alleviate the burden of the people, and we call on the government to tighten surveillance over merchants and exchange rate manipulators to control the market,” said Muhsin al-Mandalawi, first deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, also calling on the government to hasten the submission of the fiscal budget at the new price.
Iraq did not pass a budget in 2022 due to its inability to form a government for a year following the October 2021 elections.
The value of a dollar was placed at 1,750 IQD in the currency markets of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region last week, the highest exchange rate during the recent depreciation.
The drop of the Iraqi dinar value was attributed to corruption, smuggling dollars out of Iraq, and pressure from the United States.
The Iraqi Central Bank in late 2020 devalued the dinar against the US dollar by 22 percent, dropping it from 1,182 IQD to 1,450 IQD and sparking public outrage. The devaluation came in an effort to combat a national liquidity crisis and bring in much-needed cash to the government’s coffers.
