Dollar hovers near 170,000 dinars despite Iraqi government pledges to bring it down

BAGHDAD — The dollar rose to 169,500 dinars per $100 in Baghdad and Basra on Thursday morning, edging closer to 170,000, while it eased slightly in Erbil.

Exchange shops in Baghdad and Basra sold $100 for 169,500 dinars, up 250 from Wednesday. They bought it for 168,000, down 750, which widened the gap between their buying and selling prices to 1,500 dinars.

In Erbil, the selling rate fell to 169,200 dinars per $100 from 169,500 on Wednesday, and the buying rate fell to 169,000 from 169,200.

The Central Bank’s official rate is 152,000 dinars per $100, which puts the selling price in Baghdad and Basra about 11.5% higher. It matches the 169,500 recorded on Oct. 22 and 23. The dollar eased the next day after Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Washington would send $1 billion in cash and that the parallel rate would soon fall to 155,000 dinars per $100.

On Wednesday, Kaifi Khoshnaw, the spokesperson for Erbil’s dollar market, told 964media that a shortage of dollars in the market was pushing the price up. He said Sunday’s attack on the Khor Mor gas field had added 500 to 600 dinars to the price of $100, and he also blamed the budget deficit and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Since Oct. 7, the Central Bank buys dollars from the Finance Ministry at 1,500 dinars, sells them to banks at 1,510 and sets the public rate at 1,520. Before that date the three rates were 1,300, 1,310 and 1,320.