Iraq Economic News and Points To Ponder Thursday Morning 7-30-26
Iraqi Banks Accelerate US Compliance Measures
2026-07-30 07:08 Shafaq News- Baghdad Iraqi private banks have begun implementing urgent compliance measures tied to lifting restrictions on several lenders, banking sources told Shafaq News on Thursday.
The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) instructions require stronger anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls, tighter governance, closer monitoring of dollar movements, and measures to prevent smuggling and illicit transfers, the sources explained, adding that banks were given deadlines to complete the procedures, with failure potentially limiting access to international banking services.
Employees at several private lenders separately told Shafaq News that management had intensified work, with some staff working about 12 hours daily and reporting severe exhaustion and fainting cases.
On July 18, Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s Media Office said CBI Governor Nizar Nasser Hussein held high-level meetings with US Treasury officials that produced an understanding to return restricted Iraqi banks to foreign correspondent channels in currencies other than the US dollar.
Read more: Iraq’s PM al-Zaidi offers Tehran and Washington a corridor, not a battlefield
Hussein said seven banks are currently eligible to resume non-dollar correspondent banking and may later qualify for dollar transactions after completing further compliance and governance requirements.
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Iraqi-banks-accelerate-US-compliance-measures
Oil Prices Retreat On Steady Gulf Supply Routes
2026-07-30 Shafaq News Oil prices erased some of their previous gains on Thursday, despite escalating attacks in the Gulf as investor focus shifted to supply flows through the key chokepoints in the region.
Brent futures fell 96 cents, or 1.06%, to $89.78 a barrel as of 0418 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 64 cents, or 0.76%, to $83.82 a barrel.
Brent settled up 7.91% in the previous session and WTI up 6.56% in one of the sharpest spikes of the Iran war, reversing a 5% plunge on Tuesday after a pause in hostilities in the five-month conflict.
Prices surged as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to hit Iran "very hard" after an Iranian missile attack on Tuesday on a U.S. base in Jordan.
On Wednesday, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia attacked Iran-backed paramilitary forces in Iraq, the first time that Saudi had publicly joined U.S. air strikes, in retaliation for drone attacks on Saudi oil targets launched from Iraq.
The U.S. also carried out two hours of attacks on Iran on Wednesday, the U.S. Central Command said. That ended a lull in U.S. strikes on Iran that began over the weekend.
"Trump’s 'hit hard' rhetoric caused the price spike immediately but looks like the market has fully priced (that) in and (is) considering the 'TACO' possibility right now," said Lin Ye, vice president of commodity markets, oil, at Rystad Energy, referring to the acronym Trump Always Chickens Out.
Ye said the market is following a pattern: geopolitical headlines are triggering rapid price spikes, but those gains are often short-lived as actual supply flows and parallel diplomatic efforts tend to determine how long those upward price moves persist.
Prices are being capped as crude supply is still moving from the key Gulf region despite the near shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran closed the waterway, through which around a fifth of global oil and gas flows previously passed, after the U.S.-Israeli war began on February 28.
Rystad Energy estimates about 13 million barrels per day of oil from the Gulf is still reaching markets.
Even after the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea on July 20, disrupting shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, some cargoes, particularly on Chinese-connected tankers, have flowed to markets.
"While overall volumes are reduced, oil continues to leak out of the region through multiple channels, and additional workarounds are being explored. The longer this situation persists, the more these alternative routes and methods will erode Iran's leverage over the Strait of Hormuz," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note.
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Oil-prices-retreat-on-steady-Gulf-supply-routes
Basrah Crudes Rise Despite Global Benchmark Losses
026-07-30 Shafaq News- Basrah Iraq’s Basrah crude prices edged higher on Thursday, gaining less than 1%, even as major global oil benchmarks declined.
Basrah Heavy crude climbed to $54.04 per barrel, rising $0.34, or 0.63%, while Basrah Medium crude advanced to $56.34 per barrel, adding $0.34, or 0.61%.
Brent futures dropped 96 cents, or 1.06%, to $89.78 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 64 cents, or 0.76%, to $83.82 a barrel.
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Basrah-crudes-rise-despite-global-benchmark-losses-6
Najaf Advances Oil Exploration With New Well
2026-07-29 Shafaq News- Najaf Najaf, in southern Iraq, is preparing to drill a new exploratory oil well in the Al-Qarnain oil block after completing the installation of a new drilling site, Governor Yousef Kanawi said on Wednesday.
In a statement, Kanawi described the project as part of the province's plan to explore and develop its oil resources.
Operated by China’s ZhenHua Company through Qarnain Petroleum Company (QPC), the Al-Qarnain field spans roughly 8,773 square kilometers near the Saudi border and is considered one of Iraq’s most promising exploration areas.
Read more: Iraq’s oil bottleneck: Abundance trapped by dependency
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Najaf-advances-oil-exploration-with-new-well
Three Oil Tankers Dock At Iraq’s Basra Port
2026-07-30 Shafaq News- Basra Three crude oil tankers with a combined capacity of five million barrels have docked at Iraq’s Basra Oil Port to load cargoes bound for global markets, a source at the state-owned General Company for Ports of Iraq told Shafaq News on Thursday.
The chartered vessels, operated by Indian and Chinese companies, berthed at the port’s single-point mooring terminals. Two can each carry two million barrels, while the third has a capacity of one million.
Additional tankers are expected in the coming days, with some already approaching Iraqi territorial waters and others waiting offshore for clearance.
Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, exports about 95% of its crude through southern terminals, leaving it highly exposed to disruptions in Gulf shipping. Eco Iraq, an economic affairs observatory, estimated that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz had cut exports by about 350 million barrels by June 20, costing the country roughly $37.7 billion in revenue.
The Oil Ministry reported earlier this week that Iraq exported 32.11 million barrels of crude, including condensates, worth about $2.34 billion during May and June. The total comprised 20.24 million barrels from Basra, 10.31 million barrels of Kirkuk crude shipped through Turkiye’s Ceyhan port, and 1.56 million barrels from the Kurdistan Region through the same route.
Read more: No exit but Hormuz: Iraq's economic vulnerability exposed
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Three-oil-tankers-dock-at-Iraq-s-Basra-Port
USD/IQD Edges Up In Baghdad, Erbil Trading
2026-07-30 Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Erbil The US dollar opened Thursday’s trading higher in Iraq, hovering around 151,000 dinars per 100 dollars.
According to Shafaq News market survey, the dollar traded in Baghdad’s Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya exchanges at 150,650 dinars per 100 dollars, up from the previous session’s 150,300 dinars.
In the Iraqi capital, exchange shops sold the dollar at 151,000 dinars and bought it at 150,000 dinars, while in Erbil, selling prices stood at 150,650 dinars and buying prices at 150,550 dinars.
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/USD-IQD-edges-up-in-Baghdad-Erbil-trading
Gold extends gains in Baghdad and Erbil
2026-07-30 Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Erbil On Thursday, gold prices hovered near 855,000 IQD per mithqal in Baghdad and Erbil markets, according to a survey by Shafaq News Agency.
Gold prices on Baghdad's Al-Nahr Street recorded a selling price of 853,000 IQD per mithqal (equivalent to five grams) for 21-carat gold, including Gulf, Turkish, and European varieties, with a buying price of 849,000 IQD. The same gold had sold for 848,000 IQD on Wednesday.
The selling price for 21-carat Iraqi gold stood at 823,000 IQD, while the buying price reached 819,000 IQD.
In jewelry stores, the selling price per mithqal of 21-carat Gulf gold ranged between 855,000 and 865,000 IQD, while Iraqi gold sold for between 825,000 and 835,000 IQD.
In Erbil, 22-carat gold was sold at 899,000 IQD per mithqal, 21-carat gold at 859,000 IQD, and 18-carat gold at 735,000 IQD.
https://www.shafaq.com/en/Economy/Gold-extends-gains-in-Baghdad-and-Erbil