Iraqi dinar strengthens as Zaidi nomination and Trump backing ease market anxiety

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi dinar strengthened against the U.S. dollar on Sunday, with exchange rates falling below 152,500 dinars per $100 in the parallel market at the close of trading in Baghdad, Erbil and Basra.

The dollar dropped around 3,000 dinars compared with last week, when it reached approximately 155,000 dinars per $100, continuing a three-day decline. The official Central Bank of Iraq rate remains at 130,000 dinars per $100.

Traders and currency experts attributed the strengthening to the appointment of Ali al-Zaidi as prime minister-designate and U.S. President Donald Trump’s public support for the move, alongside circulating reports of incoming dollar shipments that helped ease market concerns.

The volatility began on April 22, when Reuters reported, citing Iraqi sources, that the United States had halted a cash shipment worth around $500 million bound for Iraq and suspended parts of its security cooperation with Baghdad. Iraq’s oil revenues are deposited in accounts at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, a system established after 2003, with dollar transfers to the Central Bank subject to U.S. oversight and compliance procedures.

Trump congratulated Zaidi in a phone call Thursday and extended a formal invitation to visit Washington after the government is formed.