Iraq Economic News and Points to Ponder Friday Afternoon 10-6-23

The Central Bank Denies The Cessation Of Dollar Shipments From The US Federal Reserve

October 6, 2023  Baghdad/Al-Masala Al-Hadath: The Central Bank of Iraq confirmed, today, Friday, that the dollar shipments sent by the US Federal Bank are proceeding according to a specific schedule and timings agreed upon between the two monetary institutions.

In a statement, the Central Bank denied “news and media reports that talk about stopping or reducing shipments sent to the bank,” noting that “yesterday, Thursday, the shipment was received on time.”

He called on the media to “be careful in publishing information related to monetary policy in Iraq and take it from its approved sources through the official website and official accounts on social media sites.”   https://almasalah.com/archives/69267

The Central Bank Explains The Reality Of The Hundred Dollars Reaching 170 Thousand

Economy   10/05/2023 Number of readings: 342  Baghdad - Iraq Today:  The Director General of the Department of Investments and Foreign Remittances, Mazen Sabah Ahmed, today, Thursday, issued a clarification regarding the statements attributed to him in Reuters regarding the dollar exchange rate reaching 170 thousand dinars.

The Central Bank stated in a press statement, “The statements attributed to the Director General of the Department of Investments and Foreign Transfers, Mazen Sabah Ahmed, at Reuters, included press formulations that the agency reported in an inaccurate form.”

The statement quoted Ahmed as saying, “The Central Bank guarantees dollar deposits, and the citizen who deposited his money in dollars with any Iraqi bank previously or by 2024 has an inherent right to receive these amounts in cash and in US dollars.”

He added, "There was no mention in the press interview of expectations that the exchange rate would reach 1,700 and that the Central Bank has its tools that it uses to reduce the difference between the two prices. There are no indications that the exchange rate in the parallel market will reach this level. On the contrary, there are measures being taken that will contribute to... Reducing the difference.

He pointed out that "the reforms undertaken by the Central Bank of Iraq aim to achieve compliance of the bank and The banking system in general with international compliance standards, in a way that prevents the dollar from reaching parties prohibited from obtaining it or speculating with it.”

He pointed out that "the announcement that the date of 1/1/2024 will be the beginning of stopping cash withdrawals includes transfers received only from outside Iraq according to certain arrangements that guarantee the sustainability of business, and does not in any way include citizens 'balances in US dollars.'    LINK

The Iraqi Dinar Continues To Deteriorate Against The Dollar

October 6, 2023  Baghdad/Al-Masala Al-Hadath: Coinciding with a new decline in the value of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar, complaints from Iraqi travelers outside the country escalated about the difficulty of obtaining the dollar, amid accusations of exchange companies and local banks of manipulation and deliberate delay in implementing their obligations to the Central Bank.

Last Thursday, the parallel market recorded a sharp decline in the value of the dinar, amounting to 1,570 dinars to the dollar, a significant difference from the official set value of 1,320 dinars to the dollar.

While traders confirmed that despite the stock market's closure today, Friday, the dinar is expected to witness a new decline at the end of trading, due to the continued demand for the dollar from traders and travelers outside the country.   https://almasalah.com/archives/69206

The Central Bank Confirms The Continued Arrival Of Dollar Cash From The US Federal Reserve[/Size]

Economy | 07:11 - 06/10/2023   Mawazine News - Baghdad    The Central Bank of Iraq confirmed, today, Friday, that the dollar shipments sent by the US Federal Bank are proceeding according to a specific schedule and timings agreed upon between the two monetary institutions.

The Central Bank stated in a statement received by Mawazine News that it “denies news and media reports that talk about stopping or reducing shipments sent to the bank,” noting that “yesterday, Thursday, the shipment was received on time.”

He called on the media to "be careful in publishing information related to monetary policy in Iraq and take it from its approved sources through the official website and official accounts on social media sites.

https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=235985

The Central Bank Of Iraq Confirms The Continued Arrival Of Cash Dollars From The US Federal Reserve

FRIDAY, 10-06-2023, PM 7:14   KARAR AL-ASSADI   The Central Bank of Iraq confirmed, today, Friday, that dollar shipments sent by the US Federal Bank are proceeding according to a specific schedule and timings agreed upon between the two monetary institutions.

The bank stated, in a statement received by Noon News Agency, that yesterday, Thursday, the shipment was received on time, denying news and media reports that talk about stopping or reducing shipments sent to the bank.

The Central Bank of Iraq called on the media to be accurate in publishing information related to monetary policy in Iraq and to take it from its approved sources through the official website and official accounts on social media sites.

Washington rejected Iraq's request to obtain one billion dollars in cash from the Federal Reserve Bank, under the pretext that it conflicts with their efforts to curb Baghdad's use of the dollar and stop illicit cash flows to Iran, according to the American newspaper "The Wall Street Journal . "

The American newspaper quoted American officials as saying, "The banknotes in the hands of Iraqis have become a lucrative source of illicit dollars that return to militias and corrupt politicians, as well as to Iran."    https://non14.net/public/160736

Despite Its Rise...The Iraqi Central Bank Is Reassured By The Continued Arrival Of Cash Dollars From The US Federal Reserve

Politics |Baghdad today – Baghdad  Today, Friday (October 6, 2023), the Central Bank of Iraq issued a “reassurance” about the availability of the dollar and its continued arrival from the US Federal Reserve, in a reassurance that contradicts the available data and global reports.

The bank said in a statement received by “Baghdad Today” that “dollar shipments sent by the US Federal Bank are proceeding according to a specific schedule and timings agreed upon between the two monetary institutions, and yesterday, Thursday, the shipment was received on time,” denying news and media reports that “talk about stopping or A reduction in shipments sent to the bank.

The Central Bank of Iraq called on "the media to be careful in publishing information related to monetary policy in Iraq and to take it from its approved sources through the official website and official accounts on social media sites."

A Wall Street Journal report revealed that the Central Bank of Iraq asked the US Federal Reserve for one billion dollars in cash as an additional payment, but the US Federal Reserve refused.

The Central Bank's reassurance came in opposition to the facts, including the directive of the Rafidain Bank to wait to sell dollars to travelers in some of its branches in Baghdad due to the Central Bank of Iraq not enhancing its share of the American currency.

It also contradicts the Central Bank’s assurance of reducing the exchange companies’ share of the cash dollar, as information indicates that the bank reduced the exchange companies’ share to less than half.

The information about reducing US Federal Reserve transfers from the dollar to Iraq by half was consistent with what Mazen Ahmed, Director General of the Investment and Transfer Department at the Central Bank of Iraq, told Reuters, that the goal of preventing the withdrawal of the dollar from citizens’ accounts is to stop the illegal use of about 50%. Of the $10 billion in cash that Iraq imports annually from the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.   Source: Baghdad Today   LINK

Measures Related To Iran And Currency Exchange.. What About Emwazi?

Economy |Today   Baghdad today – Baghdad   Economist Nabil Al-Marsoumi commented today, Friday (October 6, 2023), regarding the Central Bank of Iraq’s reduction of banking companies’ shares of the cash dollar by more than half.

Washington rejected Iraq's request to obtain $1 billion in cash from the Federal Reserve Bank, arguing that it conflicted with their efforts to curb Baghdad's use of the dollar and stop illicit cash flows to Iran. According to the American Wall Street Journal.

Al-Marsoumi wrote in his Facebook post, which was followed by “Baghdad Today,” that “the US Federal Reserve reduced its transfers of cash dollars to Iraq from 10 billion dollars to 5 billion dollars annually through semi-monthly shipments.”

American refusal

He added, "Washington rejected an Iraqi request for an additional billion dollars because it conflicts with American efforts to curb Baghdad's use of the dollar and stop illicit cash flows to Iran and Syria."

Al-Marsoumi noted, "As a result, the Central Bank of Iraq was forced to reduce the banking companies' shares of the cash dollar by more than half, which will affect the exchange rate of the dinar against the dollar in the parallel market in the future and will reduce Iraq's imports from Iran by almost half."

According to a report by the American Wall Street Journal published yesterday, Thursday (October 5, 2023), “  Iraq is seeking to obtain a special shipment worth one billion dollars in cash from the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, but American officials declined to approve, saying that the request conflicts with their efforts to curb the use of... Baghdad for the dollar and stop illicit cash flows, while Baghdad said that it needs funds derived from its oil sales to support its cash reserves.

A Source Of Profit

He added, "Since the American invasion of Iraq two decades ago, the United States has been providing $10 billion or more annually to Baghdad on bi-monthly cargo flights carrying huge pallets of cash, derived from the proceeds of Iraqi oil sales deposited with the Federal Reserve Bank," he said. American officials said that banknotes in the hands of Iraqis have become a lucrative source for illicit dollars and corrupt politicians.

He continued, "Iraq said that it needs funds to help support its faltering currency, while a senior Iraqi official said that after the United States rejected the initial appeal submitted by Iraq last month, the Central Bank of Iraq submitted an official request last week, and the US Treasury Department is still studying it." ".

The report continued, "According to Iraqi officials, treasury officials informed Iraqi bank governors that sending a large additional shipment conflicts with Washington's goal of reducing Iraq's use of American banknotes in favor of electronic transactions that can be more easily tracked, while American officials said that there is strong evidence that "Some of the dollars that used to go to Iraq are smuggled in cash."

A Dangerous Precedent

The report noted that "the initial American refusal angered some Iraqi officials, who said they requested an additional billion dollars from their own funds because the country's cash reserves declined after Washington's attempts to restrict the flow of dollars led to widespread panic and hoarding of dollars on stock exchanges."

In addition, Professor of International Economics, Nawar Al-Saadi, said that the US Federal Reserve refused to provide the Iraqi Central Bank with a billion dollars in cash, “a dangerous precedent that must be taken seriously by the Iraqi government.”

Al-Saadi said in a post on his Facebook page, “Enough of the drumming by the economists who drum on the channels day and night and claim that the dinar is strong and that there are strict measures. Now trust has deteriorated between the Iraqi Central Bank and the (American) Federal Reserve. The Americans cannot tolerate procrastination and prevarication any longer.”  Source: Baghdad Al-Youm + Agencies   LINK

Provoking Points to Ponder :

Anybody can become angry - that is easy - but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time - and for the right purpose and in the right way -- that is not within everybody's power and is not easy -- Aristotle 

Tolerance  is the positive and cordial effort to understand another's beliefs, practices, and habits without necessarily sharing or accepting them -- Joshua Liebman

Forgiveness -- Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it foregoes revenge, and dares forgive an injury -- E. H. Chapin

"I can forgive, but I cannot forget" is only another way of saying, "I will not forgive" -- Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note -- torn in two - burned  up - so that it can never be shown against one -- Henry Ward Beecher

Friendship -- True friendship is like sound health, the value of it is seldom known until it is lost - Charles Caleb Colton

Reality -- It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end --Ursula K Leguin

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice - It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved -- William Jennings Bryan

Purpose -- I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul -- William E Henley

Knowing -- Where there is the tree of knowledge, there is always paradise; so say the most ancient and the most modern serpents -- Friedrich Nietzche

Compassion --Fear grows out of the things we think; it lives in our minds, Compassion grows out of the things we are, and lives in our hearts -- Barbara Garrison

What we anticipate seldom occurs -- what we least expect generally happens -- Benjamin Disraell