KTFA:

Frank26:  "BECAUSE THE USD IS BEING ELIMINATED AND DEPEGGED BY THE IQD"......F26

Almost half of Iraq's financial surplus has been transferred to US bonds .. Is there a benefit for Baghdad ?

25th November, 2022

Iraq continues to increase its holdings of US bonds at a time when it is witnessing huge numbers of oil revenues as a result of the rise in oil prices, as not a month passes without Iraq buying US bonds, at a value of approximately $1.6 billion per month. 

The US Treasury said in its latest table, "Iraq rose two ranks to rank 32 among the countries with the largest holders of US treasury bonds of 38 countries listed in the table for countries with possessions of more than 32 billion dollars."

She added, "Iraq's possession of these bonds amounted to $36.9 billion for the month of September, up by 3.65% from August of 2022, and up by 105% from the same month of last year 2021." She pointed out that "Iraq was the fourth largest Arab country after Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, while Japan came at the top of the countries with the largest possession of these bonds, followed by China second and the United Kingdom third," noting that "the total bonds of the countries of the world amounted to 7 trillion and 296 billion dollars."

And Iraq buys these bonds as a result of achieving a monthly financial surplus, which has a comparison between its expenses and revenues. Speaking of the financial surplus achieved in the current year 2022, Iraq's possession of US bonds in the last month of last year, December, amounted to $22.5 billion.

During the 9 months of this year until September, Iraq's possession of US bonds amounted to $36.9 billion, which means that Iraq bought during the first nine months of this year $14.4 billion in US bonds.

Looking at the accounts of the Iraqi state until September, Iraq's total revenues during 9 months of the year amounted to more than 122 trillion dinars (more than 84 billion dollars), while its expenditures were about 79 trillion dinars (more than 53 billion dollars).

Thus, the surplus achieved by Iraq amounts to 31 billion dollars in 9 months, and during these same nine months, Iraq bought US bonds with 14.4 billion dollars of the achieved financial surplus, which means that more than 46% of Iraq's financial surplus turned into US bonds.

What led to the temptation of Iraq to transfer nearly half of its financial surplus to US bonds is the high interest rate approved by the US Federal Reserve during the current year, and the continuous increase that is expected to reach the end of this year by more than 4%.

Accordingly, Iraq can receive interest a year from now on the value of its current bonds at a value of approximately $1.5 billion, while its interest will rise further with the purchase of more bonds in the coming months with oil prices stabilizing above $70 a barrel, which is the price that represents the limit. The difference between Iraq's expenditures and the possibility of achieving a financial surplus.

And while Iraq bought US bonds with about half of the financial surplus it achieved, the other half is divided between buying gold, which since the beginning of this year amounted to about 34 tons of gold that Iraq bought during this year so far, bringing its reserves to more than 130 tons after it was not it exceeds 96 tons at the beginning of this year.

The average price of a ton of gold globally during the current year is approximately $50 million, which means that Iraq bought gold at $1.7 billion, in addition to bonds at $14.4 billion, meaning that it bought bonds and gold at more than $16 billion, and with this, it has converted more than from 50% of its financial surplus achieved so far into gold and US bonds.  LINK

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Frank26:  "1, 2, 3... GO!!!"............F26

The Central Bank is approaching the end of November with a 50% drop in its sales...and there are 3 reasons behind the drop

26th November, 2022

Numerical data showed the extent of the collapse in currency sales to the Central Bank of Iraq during the month of November, as the total sales so far amounted to $2.353 billion as the month approaches, after monthly sales touched or exceeded $5 billion.

The data showed that November recorded sales of foreign remittances amounting to 1.914 billion dollars, down from foreign remittances for the month of October by 55%, when they were 4.171 billion dollars in October. As for cash sales in November, they amounted to 439 million dollars, down by 43% compared to cash sales in October, when they were 759 million dollars.

This total decline in currency sales, which is approximately 50%, came as of the current month of November, while the reasons that may explain this decline varied. The total sales of the first four days of November amounted to about 536 million dollars, which amounts were made during two or 3 days in the past months, and “Yess Iraq” had previously submitted a report through which it expected that the Central Bank’s sales in November would decrease as a general rate by 40%. 

Experts' expectations came that the decrease is related to the lack of demand for the dollar by citizens due to fears of lowering the price of the dollar by the government, but the information indicates that this decrease is linked to the exclusion of a number of banks that were already alone acquiring 40% of the central bank's sales, such as Ali's banks.

Ghulam, which are the banks of Ansari, Middle East and Al-Qabid, as well as the exclusion of Bank of Asia, all of which were excluded by the Central Bank from dealing in dollars, following directives and warnings from the US Treasury against these banks accused of smuggling currency.

 For its part, the Central Bank of Iraq justified, a few days ago, the reasons for the decrease in the volume of sales of the foreign currency sale window recently, by saying that it is due to the bank’s shift to establishing a new electronic platform for selling dollars and foreign remittances

Frank26:  (A NEW PLATFORM FOR AN INTERNATIONAL FLOAT -F26)

Considering that some banks do not have enough willingness to enter within the automation that started their work. demo.

 An authorized source in the bank told the official agency, "The Central Bank of Iraq is working to automate banking business according to the best banking standards, including the establishment of an electronic platform that organizes the external transfer process through the foreign currency sale window, 

Frank26:  (BECAUSE THE AUCTIONS ARE NO LONGER CORRUPT -F26) 

Similar to the electronic platform that organized the work of letters of guarantee." He added, "Due to the insufficient readiness of the local banks with the start of the trial application of the platform, the implementation of part of the foreign transfers was postponed, which resulted in a decrease in the volume of sales of the foreign currency sale window."

The Central Bank's sales began to decline since the beginning of November, by 30%, after it had exceeded $200 million, to drop to between $120-150 million only. Sources indicate that some banks were excluded from the currency sale window due to sanctions and warnings from the US treasury, which indicates that the banks that were withdrawing currency by “imaginary import” may have been banned and moved away from the currency sale auction.   LINK

Frank26:  "FROM SUDANI TO THE PRESIDENT FOR A QUICK SIGNATURE"..........F26

Al-Sudani stresses the need to complete the draft budget law as quickly as possible

11/26/2022 12:24:42

 Today, Saturday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani chaired a meeting dedicated to discussing the draft federal budget law for the year 2023.

Al-Sudani stressed, according to an official statement, of which {Euphrates News} received a copy, "the necessity of completing the budget bill as quickly as possible, and submitting it to the House of Representatives, so that it enters into force without delay."

Al-Sudani stressed that "the law targets, in its allocations, the priorities adopted by the ministerial platform, which are combating unemployment, reducing poverty rates, combating corruption, improving services, as well as reforming the economy."

And he directed that "the draft law takes into account the importance of presenting infrastructure projects over other projects, in order to create the appropriate environment in the internal economy to achieve the adoption of the ministerial curriculum, and to provide service and make a difference that the citizen touches, in the service sector and other economic sectors." LINK

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Frank26:  "KTFA FAMILY... I SAY TO YOU... THE 5TH... THE 9TH... THE 1ST"........F26

Al-Sudani assigned two ministries to expedite the preparation of the budget, and it is likely that it will be approved next year

24th November, 2022

A member of the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives, Mueen Al-Kadhimi, stated, on Thursday, that the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia' Al-Sudani, assigned the Ministries of Finance and Planning to expedite the preparation of the draft of the country's general budget for the year 2023.

Al-Kadhimi told Shafaq News agency, that the budget will be identical to the government program, and it will include investment areas in a larger proportion compared to previous budgets to move the Iraqi economy, with funds allocated to the governorates in the development of the regions.

He added that the draft budget law will be ready in the Council of Ministers at the beginning of next month with a total amount estimated at 150 trillion dinars, and then it will be sent to the House of Representatives, expecting that Parliament will vote on the budget law after reading and amending it in January 2023.

And the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia'a al-Sudani, identified, at the beginning of this month, the priorities to focus on are the federal budget law for next year.

This came during his chairmanship of a meeting that included Minister of Finance Taif Sami, Minister of Oil Hayan Abdel Ghani, Minister of Electricity Ziyad Ali Fadel, and a number of advisors. They discussed the file of the draft federal budget law for the year 2023, and the need to expedite its preparation and send it to the House of Representatives.

Al-Sudani directed the importance of the budget being at the level of ambition, and that it prioritize meeting the needs of citizens in terms of services, as well as taking it upon itself to effectively address the problem of electricity shortages, which greatly affected the life of citizens and the economic sectors in the country.

Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani had previously directed the need to prepare the federal budget law for the year 2023 as quickly as possible.

The previous government headed by Mustafa Al-Kadhimi faltered in sending the draft budget law for the year 2022 before the Iraqi parliament in its previous session dissolved itself in preparation for the early elections that took place on the tenth of October 2021.

It is noteworthy that the financial budget for the current year 2022 was not approved by the Council of Ministers and the House of Representatives due to the turmoil that Iraq witnessed after the early elections in October 2021, which escalated to dangerous levels that ended with the events of the Green Zone, with armed confrontations between supporters of the Sadrist movement and the security forces, which claimed lives. Dozens and hundreds injured.

After the end of the crisis, with the agreement of the political blocs to elect the President of the Republic and to grant confidence to the government of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’a al-Sudani, the latter pledged that he would present the draft federal budget law for the year 2023 as soon as possible.

And a number of specialists considered that the delay in approving the budget for the current year would negatively affect investment projects and delay ongoing projects, in addition to stopping the economic activities of the market in the country in general.  LINK