Iraq Economic News and Points To Ponder Sunday Afternoon 9-13-26
Iraq 10th Among US Crude Suppliers
2026-09-13 04:55 Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Washington Iraq ranked 10th among the largest crude oil suppliers to the United States last week, with shipments averaging 46,000 barrels per day (bpd), up from 38,000 bpd the previous week, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.
Canada remained the largest supplier at 3.926 million bpd, followed by Venezuela at 599,000 bpd, Saudi Arabia at 347,000 bpd, Mexico at 297,000 bpd and Colombia at 239,000 bpd.
Brazil ranked sixth with 235,000 bpd, followed by Nigeria at 232,000 bpd, Argentina at 173,000 bpd and Guyana at 65,000 bpd.
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Iraq-10th-among-US-crude-suppliers
Gold Prices Stabilize In Baghdad, Rise In Erbil
2026-09-13 05:35 Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Erbil On Sunday, gold prices hovered around 960,000 IQD per mithqal in Baghdad and Erbil markets, according to a Shafaq News market survey.
Gold prices on Baghdad's Al-Nahr Street recorded a selling price of 960,000 IQD per mithqal (equivalent to five grams) for 21-carat gold, including Gulf, Turkish, and European varieties, with a buying price of 956,000 IQD. The same gold had sold for 960,000 IQD on Saturday.
The selling price for 21-carat Iraqi gold stood at 930,000 IQD, with a buying price of 926,000 IQD.
In jewelry stores, the selling price per mithqal of 21-carat Gulf gold ranged between 960,000 and 970,000 IQD, while Iraqi gold sold for between 930,000 and 940,000 IQD.
In Erbil, 22-carat gold was sold at 1,003,000 IQD per mithqal, 21-carat gold at 958,000 IQD, and 18-carat gold at 821,000 IQD.
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Gold-prices-stabilize-in-Baghdad-rise-in-Erbil-9
Baghdad To Release $382M+ For Farmers
2026-09-13 06:29 Shafaq News- Baghdad Iraq will release 500 billion dinars ($382.2M) in overdue payments to farmers during September, Finance Minister Faleh Al-Sari announced on Sunday, following months of protests over delayed agricultural dues.
Al-Sari said the Finance Ministry would also continue settling farmers’ payments in the coming months until all outstanding dues are cleared.
The minister did not specify which agricultural seasons the payments will cover, how the funds will be distributed among provinces, or when the remaining outstanding dues will be fully paid. According to parliamentary Agriculture and Water Committee member Falih Al-Khazali, farmers who had delivered their crops were owed 1.5 trillion dinars ($1.15B) as of September 7.
Hundreds of farmers from several Iraqi provinces demonstrated outside the Finance Ministry in Baghdad on August 18 over unpaid dues for wheat sold to the state. At least 17 others were injured on May 3 when security forces used water cannons and electric stun devices to disperse farmers from central and southern provinces who marched toward Baghdad’s Green Zone demanding overdue payments and changes to wheat pricing, according to the General Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations.
Read more: Iraq’s wheat fields no longer guarantee bread
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Baghdad-to-release-382M-for-farmers
Dollar Steady In Baghdad, Slips In Erbil
2026-09-13 09:42 Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Erbil The US dollar closed Sunday’s trading mixed in Iraq, hovering around 157,000 dinars per 100 dollars.
According to a Shafaq News market survey, the dollar traded in Baghdad's Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya exchanges at 156,500 dinars per 100 dollars, unchanged from the morning session.
In the Iraqi capital, exchange shops sold the dollar at 157,000 dinars and bought it at 156,000 dinars, while in Erbil, selling prices stood at 156,250 dinars and buying prices at 156,200 dinars.
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Dollar-steady-in-Baghdad-slips-in-Erbil
Mosul secures $46M for Iraq’s largest university solar project
2026-09-13 07:27 Shafaq News- Nineveh The University of Mosul is preparing to launch a 30-megawatt solar power project funded by a €40 million ($46.4M) grant from Germany’s KfW Development Bank, University President Wahid Mahmoud Al-Ibrahimi announced on Sunday, with the final contract expected to be signed in November.
Al-Ibrahimi told a press conference that technical and administrative procedures had been completed and field implementation would begin after the contract is signed, describing it as Iraq’s largest university clean-energy project.
The project is designed to cover the electricity needs of the university’s colleges and facilities, with surplus power fed into the national grid to improve electricity supply to hospitals and water stations across Nineveh, and will include a specialized research center to train local personnel in operating and managing the solar facility, with the aim of expanding the model in the future.
University records identify Tetra Tech as the project’s consulting firm and say the project’s initial phases began in 2023, including technical studies, site assessments, and consideration of a possible expansion in generating capacity.
A German delegation began final technical and administrative work at the university on September 6, and five days of talks concluded on September 10 with meeting records signed ahead of formal agreements at the Higher Education Ministry in Baghdad. KfW has previously supported reconstruction at the University of Mosul after the war against ISIS. The German development bank says 27 rehabilitation projects across the campus had been completed by June 2023, including work on the central library, academic facilities, sports infrastructure, and other university buildings.
Read more: Electricity output covers only one-third of Iraq's demand
https://www.shafaq.com/en/society/Mosul-secures-46M-for-Iraq-s-largest-university-solar-project
PM Al-Zaidi Cools Al-Maliki–Al-Khazali Tensions
2026-09-13 13:37 Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi has succeeded in easing tensions between State of Law Coalition (SLC) head Nouri Al-Maliki and Qais Al-Khazali, leader of the Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, after a dispute over deputy prime minister posts, an informed source told Shafaq News on Sunday.
According to the source, Al-Zaidi “personally intervened” to ease the disagreement and end the public sparring between the two sides, although the deputy PM issue will remain on the agenda of future meetings of the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework (CF).
The dispute erupted during the CF’s September 7 meeting, attended by Al-Zaidi, after Al-Maliki rejected a proposal to create deputy prime ministers. A day later, Al-Zaidi called Al-Maliki to push for de-escalation, completion of the cabinet, and a review of the proposal.
Abdulrahman Al-Jazairi, a senior member of the Al-Qasam Movement affiliated with State of Law, told Shafaq News that there was strong opposition to Asaib Ahl Al-Haq nominee Laith Al-Khazali and that new candidates would need to be considered. Discussions will also cover reducing deputy prime ministers’ salaries while preserving political blocs’ shares of cabinet portfolios according to their parliamentary representation.
Al-Maliki, the source said, had also urged de-escalation and rapprochement at a recent meeting with SLC leaders. On September 11, he publicly called on politicians, media figures, and bloggers to avoid fabricated or manipulated accusations and retaliatory attacks, warning that such exchanges could deepen tensions among political partners.
The former prime minister also instructed State of Law’s Shura Council to review candidates for the vacant ministries allocated to the coalition within 72 hours starting September 12, while taking other political forces’ agreed shares into account. Nine of 23 ministries currently remain without permanent ministers, including Defense, Interior, Planning, and Higher Education.
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Iraq/PM-Al-Zaidi-cools-Al-Maliki-Al-Khazali-tensions