Iraq Economic News and Points To Ponder Monday Evening 9-21-26

Oil Plunges Below $102 On De-Escalation Hopes

2026-09-21 Shafaq News   Oil prices slid to their lowest in more than a week on Monday on hopes diplomacy in the Iran war will get a chance this week amid a UN meet and as investors eyed a partial recovery in shipments from Saudi Arabia despite ongoing attacks by Yemen's Houthis. Brent crude futures and US West Texas Intermediate crude touched their lowest since September 10 earlier on Monday, with Brent at $101.71 a barrel by 0213 GMT, down $2.16, or 2.08%, after settling 0.91% lower on Friday.

US West Texas Intermediate crude lost $2.15, or 2.14%, to $98.15 a barrel following a 1.58% drop in the previous session.

"It seems that a degree of risk premium is being removed from ⁠oil prices on hopes that a diplomatic path to de-escalate the US-Iran war may arrive this week," Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said.

"Whether that hope proves to be warranted or not is another question. Time will tell."

The WTI broke a key psychological support at $100 a barrel while some investors may have rolled over their positions in the October contract a day ahead of expiry to November, a Singapore-based broker said.

Iran and the US exchanged new threats on Sunday amid the stalemate, although President Donald Trump said he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to be in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly.

Iran has conveyed its conditions to mediators for re-engaging in negotiations aimed at ending the war with the US, Al Jazeera cited Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, as saying in an interview ⁠on Saturday.

However, tensions in the Middle East remained elevated as Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked "sensitive" sites in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Saturday with missiles and drones, as well as an Aramco facility in the Red Sea city of Yanbu, a key oil export hub.

China has asked Iran to help rein in the Houthis after an appeal to Beijing by Saudi Arabia following the attacks, according to three Iranian sources familiar with the matter.

The attacks by ⁠the Houthis on Saudi Aramco's East-West pipeline have prompted the state energy firm to increase exports through the Strait of Hormuz this month and next after halting some shipments via Yanbu.

That enabled exports from the OPEC kingpin to recover to over 4 million barrels per day (bpd) so far in September after slumping to 2.4 million bpd ⁠in August, the lowest since at least 2013, according to provisional data from analytics firm Kpler.

"Middle East oil flows remain surprisingly strong despite the disruption to Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline," JPMorgan analysts said in a September 18 note, adding that the total oil flows averaged 17.1 million ⁠bpd in the past 10 days, just 6.1 million bpd below the 2025 average.

"The most notable pivot has come from Saudi Arabia," the analysts said, as satellite data indicated Saudi oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 2.9 million bpd over the past six days, up from just 700,000 bpd in August.   (Reuters)

https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Oil-plunges-below-102-on-de-escalation-hopes

Iraq Bank Deposits Fall 3.7% In July

2026-09-21    Shafaq News- Baghdad   Total deposits at Iraqi banks fell 3.7% in July to 100.982 trillion dinars ($77.2B), down 3.897 trillion dinars ($2.98B) from 104.879 trillion ($80.2B) at the end of June, according to Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) indicators.

At the end of July, central government deposits stood at 30.531 trillion dinars ($23.3B), while public institution deposits totaled 22.769 trillion ($17.4B) and private-sector deposits reached 47.682 trillion ($36.46B).

Cash credit also declined slightly to 71.432 trillion dinars ($54.56B) at the end of July from 71.504 trillion dinars ($54.62B) at the end of June, a decrease of 72 billion dinars ($55M).

Of the July total, 22.045 trillion dinars ($16.84B) in credit went to the federal government, 2.379 trillion dinars ($1.82B) to public institutions, and 47.008 trillion dinars ($35.91B) to the private sector.    https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Iraq-bank-deposits-fall-3-7-in-July

Dollar Drops In Baghdad And Erbil

2026-09-21 Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Erbil   The US dollar closed Monday's trading lower in Iraq, hovering around 157,500 dinars per 100 dollars.

According to a Shafaq News market survey, the dollar traded in Baghdad's Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya exchanges at 157,750 dinars per 100 dollars, down from the morning session's 157,900 dinars.

In the Iraqi capital, exchange shops sold the dollar at 158,250 dinars and bought it at 157,250 dinars, while in Erbil, selling prices stood at 157,450 dinars and buying prices at 157,400 dinars.

https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Dollar-drops-in-Baghdad-and-Erbil-7

ISX Weekly Trading Tops $4.5M

2026-09-21 Shafaq News- Baghdad   The Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) recorded trading worth more than 6 billion Iraqi dinars (about $4.58 million) last week, down 66% from the previous week.

According to market data, 30.010 billion shares were traded, a decline of 45.77% from the previous week, with total trading value reaching 6.093 billion dinars across 3,844 transactions.

The ISX60 index closed at 969 points, down 0.99% from the previous session.

Shares in 65 companies were traded during the week, while 29 companies recorded no activity because buy and sell orders did not match. Trading in nine other companies remained suspended because they had not submitted required disclosures.

Non-Iraqi investors purchased 4 million shares worth 11 million dinars in 20 transactions. They also sold 1 million shares worth 4 million dinars in four transactions.

The Iraq Stock Exchange holds five trading sessions a week, from Sunday to Thursday, and lists 103 Iraqi joint-stock companies operating across the banking, telecommunications, industrial, agricultural, insurance, financial investment, tourism, hotel, and services sectors. https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/ISX-weekly-trading-tops-4-5M

IMF, World Bank Revise Debt Risk Assessments

2026-09-21 Shafaq News- Washington   The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are revising their debt assessment framework for low-income countries following its first review since 2017, with the updated system expected to take effect in the second half of 2027, the IMF said on Monday.

According to the IMF, debt risks have become more complex since the previous review, with debt levels rising in many low-income countries and governments increasingly borrowing from domestic and foreign sources on commercial terms.

The changes will sharpen the distinction between countries facing debt stress and those whose debt is considered unsustainable. They will also refine how debt-carrying capacity is measured and expand the thresholds and tools used to identify risks.

Greater attention will also be given to domestic debt and long-term pressures, including development needs and climate adaptation. The IMF said the changes should help governments assess how much fiscal space they have for investment while managing debt vulnerabilities.

Other measures include stronger stress tests and tools to assess the accuracy of economic forecasts. The framework will encourage countries to improve the coverage, transparency and reliability of public debt data.

IMF Executive Directors broadly supported the changes but called for clear guidance, communication and training before implementation. Most directors also backed temporarily withholding the probability thresholds and country-specific mechanical signals generated by a new model for assessing unsustainable public debt while the IMF gains experience with the methodology.

The review kept the harmonized discount rate used under the LIC-DSF and the IMF's Debt Limits Policy unchanged at 5%.

Introduced in 2005, the framework guides IMF and World Bank assessments of debt risks in low-income countries and informs lending, fiscal policy and public debt management. It underwent previous reviews in 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2017.

https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/IMF-World-Bank-revise-debt-risk-assessments

Iraqi Parliament Urges Review Of Fuel Price Hike

2026-09-21 Shafaq News- Baghdad   Iraq's parliament voted on Monday on a set of recommendations to address the country's fuel crisis, including a review of recent increases in oil derivative prices, alongside votes on three other laws.

Lawmakers called for reconsidering Council of Ministers Decision No. 429 of 2026, which raised prices on oil derivatives, and for studying its economic and social impact, given its direct and indirect effects on transportation, production, and service costs.

They also urged the government to draft an urgent plan to prevent supply bottlenecks and recurring fuel shortages, ensure steady distribution across provinces, and submit a detailed report to parliament covering production, imports, consumption, costs, strategic reserves, and quantities supplied to each province.

They further called for a clear timeline to achieve sustainable self-sufficiency in oil derivatives and reduce reliance on imports, along with tighter oversight of the fuel distribution system, from storage facilities to filling stations, and legal accountability for manipulation or smuggling.

Under the measures, the parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee will oversee implementation and submit periodic reports to the parliament speaker on steps taken and completion rates. Lawmakers also called for a review of senior appointments within the Oil Ministry based on specialization, and for resuming supplies of subsidized oil derivatives to farmers.

The package additionally addressed fuel shortages in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), calling for a review of white oil quantities supplied to the region and the urgent allocation of additional amounts with the onset of winter. Lawmakers also called for discussing the economic model for crude oil sales with the Oil, Gas, and Natural Resources Committee, and directed the Oil Ministry to review hydrogenation contracts and remove underperforming companies from them.   https://www.shafaq.com/en/Iraq/Iraqi-parliament-urges-review-of-fuel-price-hike