Exclusive: Dollar fluctuations in Iraq not a market shift, Expert explains

Shafaq News/ The exchange rate of the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar has not decreased, and speculators are behind the current fluctuations, a financial expert confirmed on Wednesday.

Financial expert and former director of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Mahmoud Dagher, told Shafaq News that when the rate hits 152,000 dinars per 100 dollars and then returns to 151,000 dinars, this is not considered a decrease.

He explained that "the dollar is already high in local markets by about 180 points, or roughly 19,000 dinars per 100 dollars."

Dagher attributed the slight decline to “speculators looking to make some gains,” adding that it does not represent a real drop.

“The dollar did not rise significantly after the closure of the platform because remittances continued, and the flow of imports into Iraq remained intact,” he continued.

This week, the dollar’s exchange rate in the Iraqi local markets dropped from 152,000 dinars to 150,800 dinars before rising gradually again.

Last month, following a spike in exchange rates in the parallel market, Iraq’s financial and economic adviser to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, told Shafaq News that the increase in the exchange rate was merely a "temporary market bubble" that would eventually subside.

Speaking to Shafaq News Economic and financial expert Abdul Rahman al-Mashhadani announced that “the promotion of rumors about the suspension of the currency exchange platform has been a primary factor behind the dollar’s surge,” adding that these false claims suggested that external remittances would be halted.

“The situation is expected to stabilize, and the dollar will return to its normal levels after the holiday season,” he noted.

For his part, Parliamentary Finance Committee member MP Jamal Kocher informed Shafaq News that the committee is actively monitoring the dollar exchange rate in the parallel market in coordination with the CBI.

"The Finance Committee may summon the governor of the Iraqi Central Bank for questioning if the exchange rate does not stabilize," he added.