The Iraqi government's proposal to shrink public-sector payrolls and pension costs as part of efforts to reduce fiscal imbalances and ease financing strains could slow the depletion of foreign-exchange reserves, but will be tough to implement and risks aggravating social unrest, says Fitch Ratings. More here. (Source: Fitch)
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has announced that the county has foreign reserves exceding 60 billion dollars. In a statement on Wednesday, the bank said the reserves are "a result of the fiscal and monetary policies adopted by the Central Bank over the past years to stabilize the general financial situation, […]
By John Lee. Following Iraq's successful return to the bond markets earlier this year, it is now reportedly planning a $2 billion sovereign bond issue in 2018. The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Dr. Ali Mohsen Ismail Al-Allaq [Alak] (pictured), told Reuters that the plan is currently awaiting parliamentary approval. He added […]
By John Lee. The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Ali al-Alak, has reportedly said that Iraq's foreign reserves have dropped to $50 billion. According to a report from Reuters, this is down from $59 billion at the end of October 2015. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has announced plans to narrow the public […]
By Mark DeWeaver. This has been quite a year for the Iraqi dinar. From a level of IQD 1,217: USD 1 at the end of 2014, the market rate for the currency weakened steadily during the first quarter, penetrated a key support level at 1,290 in late April, and reached a low of 1,379 on […]
