The continued rise in hard currency prices...and anger prevails in the Iraqi street الشارع

[size=52]The continued rise in hard currency prices...and anger prevails in the Iraqi street الشارع[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Rami Al-Salihi[/size]
[size=45]Months ago, specifically since the shock of the collapse in oil prices in the world, Iraq has faced a severe and unprecedented financial crisis, which prompted the federal government to move towards borrowing from the reserves of the Central Bank of Iraq to pay nearly $ 5 billion per month, which is represented in “employee salaries, expenses The public sector, pensions, and other things.”[/size]
[size=45]The government, through its economic plans, headed towards a decision to raise the value of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar, to compensate for the financial deficit, a decision that sparked a wave of anger in the Iraqi street.[/size]
[size=45]Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi came out at a conference and defended the central bank’s decision in this regard, saying that the government had two options, “either the collapse of the system and entering into complete chaos, or we enter into a Caesarean section for reform.”[/size]
[size=45]Months after the decision to raise the price of the dollar, the markets witnessed during the past few days a noticeable increase in prices, which led to an increase in the prices of all food and consumer items.[/size]
[size=45]Monetary inflation and economic deflation[/size]
[size=45]In this regard, the economic expert Bassem Antoine believes that “the federal government’s decision to reduce the value of the dinar came against the background of its weak confidence in the Iraqi dinar,” noting that “there are many factors that affected the increase in the value of the dollar in local markets.”[/size]
[size=45]And Antoine adds in an interview with (Al-Mada), that "the political and security instability in Iraq was one of the important reasons for the decline in the value of the dinar against the dollar."[/size]
[size=45]Antoine speaks, saying that "speculators play a major role in changing the dollar's prices in the markets, in addition to the continuation of statements by members of the House of Representatives regarding the possibility of dollar prices rising to more than 160 thousand per hundred dollars."[/size]
[size=45]The economic expert indicates that “the Iraqi government and the relevant authorities are afraid of the collapse of the economy in the future, which prompted them to take such a decision to remedy the problem according to their point of view,” explaining that “the government presented the (reform) white paper to advance the economic reality in Iraq, but it I carried out only the part that serves it.”[/size]
[size=45]Antoine explains, "The government's wrong decision caused the economic downturn, as well as monetary inflation in the markets and a significant increase in poverty rates in all governorates."[/size]
[size=45]Citizens behind the rise[/size]
[size=45]In a statement to a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Ahmed Al-Haj Rasheed, who says that "the rise in the dollar's exchange rates against the Iraqi dinar came due to supply and demand and the merchants' dealings and dependence on foreign currency and its preference over the local currency."[/size]
[size=45]Rashid added, "Many citizens buy the dollar and store it in homes, preferring it over the Iraqi dinar, and this is another reason for the high exchange rates, which exceeded the 150 thousand per 100 dollars."[/size]
[size=45]And set the Central Bank of Iraq, last Monday, a new pricing for the purchase of dollars for people wishing to travel outside Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]A statement published on the Central Bank website stated, “For the purpose of facilitating the procedures for citizens to obtain foreign currency, the dollar, for the purposes of travel, study and treatment abroad, the Central Bank of Iraq announces that all their requests to purchase dollars for the above purposes will be met by feeding electronic payment cards (MasterCard and Visa Card).” at the official rate set by the bank.[/size]
[size=45]The government is responsible![/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, Saleh Al-Hamashi, the economic expert, considers that "the reasons for the rise in dollar prices in the local markets during these days are due to emptying the stores of hard currency among citizens and owners of exchangers and private banks throughout Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hamashi explains, in an interview with (Al-Mada), that "the news circulating on social media about the rise in dollar prices during the coming period to large numbers is one of the other reasons that led to the rise in hard currency prices in Iraq."[/size]
[size=45]The economic expert points out that "the government has not been aware of the results of the rise in the price of the dollar by the central bank, so far," at the same time holding the central bank and the federal government "responsible for the economic crisis that has affected the citizen in the main." Al-Hamashi proposes many solutions to get out of the dollar crisis, including restoring economic agreements with neighboring countries and imposing fees, given that exempting Iraq from customs is not important, as Iraq is a non-exporting country, as well as the importance of raising Iraq’s trade balance and its equality with neighboring countries in order to advance the economy and bridge the gaps. The big decision left by the decision to raise the US dollar against the Iraqi dinar.[/size]
[size=45]In December 2020, the Central Bank of Iraq reduced the price of the dinar against the dollar, to be 1450 dinars per dollar from the Ministry of Finance, 1460 dinars per dollar for banks, and 1470 dinars per dollar for the public.[/size]
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