Friday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 5-12-23

Including Stopping Phone Applications... Economic Solutions To Control The Dollar's Rise

May 11 19:32   Information / special.  Today, Thursday, the economist, Nabil Al-Ali, proposed solutions to control the rise in dollar exchange rates in the local markets, while stressing the need for greater facilities for small companies and merchants.

Al-Ali said, in an interview with Al-Maalouma, that "the return of the decline in dollar exchange rates in the local markets requires the central bank and the government to implement several solutions," noting that "the first matter is to make greater facilities for companies, merchants, and small merchants, and requests for financial transfers to conduct transfers with conditions ( Less severe) and removing obstacles and facilitating more and more procedures regarding these requests, and passing transfers more quickly.

He added, “The second matter revolves around stopping (mobile applications) that work to promote local exchange rates (the black market), as they are applications whose data displayed do not include their dependence on the real demand in the market (such as a real electronic auction and stock exchange, but rather it is just a media display method). .

Al-Ali continued his speech, saying: “The need to prevent any attempts to use such applications as a tool to change the direction of the market, due to its wide spread and the degree of dependence of markets, traders and traders on its presented data, through the imaginary influence on exchange rates and the impact on the markets.

The exchange rates of the dollar, in the Iraqi markets, have recently witnessed a new rise, as the exchange rate of every 100 US dollars reached approximately 146,000 Iraqi dinars, amid popular fears of a new rise in the prices of the green currency.    LINK

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Will Reducing The Budget Deficit Affect Service Projects? A Parliamentary Committee Answers

Information/Baghdad...   Today, Friday, the Parliamentary Services Committee confirmed that the government continues its service work in many areas of the capital, Baghdad, unlike previous years, pointing out that approving the budget will open the door to the completion of new projects.

Committee member Baqir Al-Saadi told Al-Maalouma, “There are service projects awaiting approval of the budget, in addition to many important files in the country that are related to security and economic aspects, as well as employee salaries, new grades, and procedures for contract owners, all of which depend on approving the budget.”

He added, “The movements within the House of Representatives and the existing meetings in order to reduce the amounts of the budget deficit will not be at the expense of the service projects that the citizen awaits, as work is under way to provide the public interest of the country.”

And he indicated that "Baghdad, through the municipality and the governorate, is witnessing continuous work in many service projects, which confirms that there are moves towards the completion of these projects, unlike the previous periods, especially in the field of roads and sewers." LINK

Sudanese Financial Advisor Reveals The Reason For The Rise In Dollar Prices Again

Baghdad - Iraq today:The financial and economic advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, revealed the reason for the return of the exchange rate hike in the parallel market, while he indicated that it was a "temporary matter."

Salih said, in a press interview, that "the return of the price of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar in the parallel market is temporary," noting that "within a few days it will decline again, until it stabilizes to the official price or very close to the official price.”

And he indicated that "the temporary rise is due to organized crime gangs carrying out the process of smuggling currency again through (electronic) prepaid cards, but there are strict government and security measures to confront these gangs, and for this price will decrease again during the next few days.”

During the past few days, the exchange rates of the dollar witnessed a big jump until the selling price exceeded 148 thousand dinars per 100 dollars. LINK

An Economist Identifies A Major Reason For The Rise In Dollar Exchange Rates In The Markets

economy |Baghdad today – Baghdad   Today, Friday, the economic expert, Abdul Rahman Al-Mashhadani, identified a major reason for the escalation of dollar exchange rates in the Iraqi markets.

Al-Mashhadani told (Baghdad Today) that "the escalation of the exchange rates of the US dollar in the parallel market in Baghdad and the rest of the provinces is due to the financial transfers of merchants abroad, since some of them are delayed in the auditing process and others are rejected after two weeks or more have passed."

Pointing out that "merchants are mainly interested in financing your trade, so many of them resort to the parallel market and transfer money abroad officially."

He added, "Not a small part of merchants and companies have not been organized on the electronic platform designated for them, and they are still dependent on the parallel market, in addition to the delay in transfers to merchants leading to the imposition of very expensive fines in foreign ports and airports that some see as higher than the cost of buying dollars from the parallel market. Therefore, They resort to the latter in order to speed up the shipment of goods to Iraqi ports."

He pointed out that "the shipment of any merchant is not released in the ports except after paying the money, and this is what prompts some of them to rely on the parallel market to buy the dollar, despite its rise from the specified prices, because the cost of floor fines is very high." LINK

Khazali Reveals "Political Pressures" On The Budget

Sumerian special  2023-05-11 | Source:  Alsumaria News  2,499 views   Today, Thursday, the head of the Agriculture, Water and Marshes Committee in the House of Representatives, Faleh Khazali, confirmed that the federal budget is subject to "political pressures", while he considered that these pressures are "natural", revealing at the same time the share of the ministries of agriculture and water resources from the budget.

 “This is the first budget in the history of the Iraqi state to be comprehensive for three years, and it is consistent with what was stated in the Financial Management Law No. 6 of 2019, and this law will give the government space to take its role at the executive level and perpetuate the movement,” Khazali said, for Alanna program broadcast by Alsumaria TV. executive at all levels," pointing out that "what is stated in the budget is subject to interview and discussion, and the Finance Committee is making great efforts to correct it."

He added, "The current budget, like any previous budget, was subjected to political pressure," noting that "differences between the political blocs are normal, as each bloc searches for its interests within the budget and what secures access to its entitlements according to what it sees."

Al-Khazali suggested that the budget be approved on “the current May 17 or two or three days after that date,” considering that “proceeding with the approval will give comfort to the government to carry out its work,” noting that “there are promising projects, loans, agreements, obligations, and projects pending on approving the budget in line with the program government of Muhammad al-Sudani.

A member of the House of Representatives revealed that "the share of the Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources does not exceed 1% at the operational level, compared to the total budget level."

And while he stressed the necessity of "fair justice for all provinces, especially the south and the center," he indicated that "the budget will reveal the extent of the Kurdistan Regional Government 's friendship with the Baghdad government, in terms of handing over sovereign federal revenues (taxes, customs, and collection) and half of the revenues from the ports, gas and oil revenues, and everything federal. The real credibility will be in the implementation of political agreements."

Al-Khazali continued, "We have reservations about what is stated in the budget regarding giving projects to ministries more than headquarters to the governorates, stressing that many ministerial projects are lagging and have problems with cost, quality, implementation and financing in all sectors."   LINK

A Private Bank Loses 3.5 Billion Dinars Due To US Federal Sanctions Within 4 Months

May 11 19:39  Information/Baghdad..  The Iraq Stock Exchange Investors Association announced, on Thursday, that a private bank lost 3.5 billion dinars within 4 months due to the US Federal Reserve's measures.

"The result of the Middle East Bank's activity during the first quarter of 2023 is a loss of 3 billion and 543 million dinars," said Alaa Al-Moussawi, head of the association, in a statement received by Al-Maalooma.

He explained that "the reason for this large loss is the significant decrease in revenues after the sanctions imposed by the US Federal Bank on the bank and preventing the bank from dealing in dollars, which is the main activity of the bank."

He pointed out that "the effect of changing the exchange rate is very slight, because the bank transferred its assets from dollars before imposing sanctions on it." LINK

The International Monetary Fund Figures For Iraq Are In Doubt.. An Economist Explains

Economy  2023-05-12 | 1,734 views   Alsumaria News – Economy   Economist Nabil Al-Marsoumi said that the recent International Monetary Fund figures regarding Iraq's imports of goods and services are incorrect.

Al-Marsoumi said in a tweet, followed by  Alsumaria news, that "the International Monetary Fund  is a global monetary institution that includes a group of the brightest experts in money and monetary affairs in the world and of different nationalities, but unfortunately we note that some of the data published by the Fund lacks accuracy.”

He added, "From what was recently issued by him that imports Iraq of goods and services amounted to 105 billion dollars in 2022, which is an incorrect number and is not commensurate with the annual dollar sales of the Central Bank of Iraq and is very far from the number that it published Central Bank of Iraq  Within the balance of payments which includes imports Iraq For the year 2022, as imports of goods and services amounted to $55 billion, including $17.5 billion for government imports and $37.5 billion for private sector imports.   LINK

An Economist Clarifies About The Recent International Monetary Fund Figures Regarding Iraq's Imports: They Lack Accuracy

12/05/2023   Today, Friday, the economist Nabil Al-Marsoumi said that the recent International Monetary Fund figures regarding Iraq's imports of goods and services are incorrect and lack accuracy.

Al- Marsoumi said in a tweet, followed by NRT Arabia.

He added, "From what was recently issued by him that Iraq's imports of goods and services amounted to 105 billion dollars in 2022, which is an incorrect number and is not commensurate with the annual dollar sales of the Central Bank of Iraq and is very far."

from the number published by the Central Bank of Iraq within the balance of payments that includes Iraqi imports. For the year 2022, as imports of goods and services amounted to $55 billion, of which $17.5 billion were for government imports and $37.5 billion for private sector imports.

Earlier yesterday, the International Monetary Fund revealed that Iraq imported goods and services worth $105 billion during the year 2022.

And the fund stated in a table that was seen by NRT Arabia, a copy of it, that "Iraq imported goods and services in the year 2022, amounting to $105.4 billion," noting that "these revenues increased from the years 2020 and 2021." , which amounted to 60 and 72.8 billion dollars, respectively. .

The Fund expected, "The value of imports in Iraq for goods and services will remain the same for the year 2023, while it will rise for the year 2024 to reach $123.8 billion."

He pointed out that "Iraq came third among the Arab oil-producing countries with the highest value of imports of goods and services, after the UAE and Saudi Arabia, whose imports of the latter two for the year 2022 amounted to 303.1 billion dollars and 252.7 billion dollars, respectively, while Bahrain was the least Arab oil-producing country importing goods.” and services, with a value of $31.6 billion for the year 2022. https://www-nrttv-com.translate.goog/ar/detail3/11875?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en

Stability Of Dollar Exchange Rates In The Local Markets

Economy  |Baghdad today – Baghdad  Today, Friday, the exchange rates of the dollar against the dinar witnessed stability in the local markets in the capital, Baghdad.

The (Baghdad Today) correspondent said, "The selling price amounted to 148,000 dinars per 100 dollars, and the purchase price amounted to 146,000 dinars per 100 dollars in the local exchange offices."

He added, "The Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges are closed and stopped buying and selling today."    LINK