Reset Intelligence: The Day the IQD Shut Baghdad's Markets
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Reset Intelligence: The Day the IQD Shut Baghdad's Markets
By Reset Intelligence | @EXIT_FIAT
The first trading day of Iraq's new dinar rate ended with two of Baghdad's main wholesale markets locked.
The dollar on the street went up, not down. Baghdad closed Wednesday at 167,000 IQD for $100, against just above 163,000 before the decision.
The markets
Shops and warehouses in Shorja and Jamila closed on Wednesday, and several exchange and money-transfer companies closed with them. Traders told Iraqi reporters they were caught off guard and could not price their goods at the new rate. They have suspended their dealings until they can tell whether 1,520 will stand. One Shorja owner called the wholesale trade "completely paralyzed."
Everything else that moved
Prices - a market owner in Saladin province said a sack of rice went from 45,000 IQD to 50,000 within hours. A food distributor's agent said major firms have suspended wholesale deliveries.
The street - $100 opened Wednesday at 168,500 IQD in Baghdad and closed at 167,000. The Central Bank's new public price is 152,000.
Baghdad's answer - the Central Bank promised to meet every dollar request for trade, bank cards and travelers "without any restrictions." The state trade bank began supplying foreign currency, and the customs pay-up-front rule was suspended in the same cabinet decision as the rate.
Parliament - it suspended its agenda to debate the dollar, and the Speaker directed that the Central Bank governor and the finance minister be hosted at Thursday's session. Lawmakers are collecting signatures to reverse the decision.
The cabinet - the vote on the 9 empty seats has been pushed to next week.
Tehran - American media report the US military is on alert for possible strikes on Iran. A tanker was hit north of Qatar.
The question
The bank moved its price toward the street, and the street moved further away. Why?
That is the short version. What the gap between Iraq's two dollar prices is made of, and the one number that shows whether Baghdad's answer is working - that is the daily read.
Read the full daily briefing free for 5 days. Sign up here: the daily Iraqi dinar briefing
Want it straight from the horse's mouth? The CBI Rate Alert pings you the moment the Central Bank of Iraq moves the official rate. The number itself, not a rumour about it. It comes with our free resource library and the daily breakdown of what is actually moving in Iraq. Sign up free: The CBI Rate Alert
Got a dinar question? Reset Intelligence runs an on-call research assistant: ask it anything they have published. It answers in seconds and will conduct deep research to find you the answer. Try it: the Iraqi dinar research assistant
Common questions, answered straight: When will the Iraqi dinar revalue? and Is the Iraqi dinar revaluation real?
The design behind all of it is mapped in Head of the Snake, and the free guides live in the Iraqi dinar resource library.
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