Iraq Economic News and Points to Ponder Tuesday Afternoon 10-3-23

An Economic Expert Details The Cash Conversion Cycle Of The Iraqi Dinar

Time: 10/02/2023 Read: 533 times   {Economic: Al-Furat News} The economist, Salah Nouri, detailed the monetary conversion cycle of the Iraqi dinar.

Nouri said {to Al-Furat News} that: “The monetary cycle {the Iraqi dinar} exists between the Central Bank as the monetary authority and the only authorized one to issue the national currency and the Ministry of Finance as the financial authority authorized to implement the federal budget in terms of spending and collection.”

He added, "The third party is the public, the financial institutions {governmental and private banks} and the trade, agriculture and industry sectors, meaning that the cash that is offered to the public when implementing the budget returns to the Central Bank and then to the Ministry of Finance."

Nouri explained, “What is happening is that the cash raised through the implementation of the budget will not return to the central bank at a high rate and therefore to the Ministry of Finance,” attributing the most prominent reasons for this to “the exclusion of private banks from the currency auction, which no longer deposit the Iraqi dinar with the central bank in exchange for the dollar.” “In addition to the tendency of the public and merchants towards hoarding and dealing in cash not through banks.”

He stated, "The exclusion of private banks from the auction is the main reason; but this does not mean that they have a positive role in the economy. Rather, they only practice speculation in dollars, and they are supposed to engage in economic activity by accepting deposits and lending to economic projects."

Nouri added, “Accepting deposits and keeping a percentage of them with the Central Bank also contributes a percentage to returning the dinar to the Central Bank. This is why the Central Bank’s decision was for banks that were punished by the US Federal Reserve from dealing in dollars to continue dealing in dinars in their economic activities that are not speculative in dollars.”

He stressed that "the Central Bank can provide liquidity to the Ministry of Finance by issuing a new monetary mass, despite its disadvantages."

Specialists in economic and financial affairs reported that despite the large size of the monetary supply, which amounts to (83) trillion dinars, there is a noticeable scarcity of cash liquidity from the Iraqi dinar in the commercial markets, explaining that this comes for several reasons, the first of which is mismanagement. The financial file in the country.   From: Raghad Dahham   LINK

"Controversial Points" Between Baghdad And The Region Delay The Approval Of The Oil And Gas Law

2023-10-03 Shafaq News/ Member of the Oil and Gas Committee, Ali Abdul Sattar Al-Marshoud, confirmed that the oil and gas law has not reached the committee yet due to controversial points being resolved between Baghdad and Erbil, while its approval is contingent on resolving the controversial points.

Al-Marshoud told Shafaq News Agency: “Points of disagreement between the regional government and the federal government delayed the referral of the law to the Oil and Gas Committee,” noting that “the central government refuses to make a change to the paragraphs that the regional government is required to amend, which is the spirit of the law.”

He pointed out "the continuation of discussions between the Ministry of Oil and the committee formed by the Prime Minister and between the regional government and the political forces to end and resolve the controversial issues."

Al-Marshoud conditioned the approval of the oil and gas law on resolving the controversial points according to the meetings that he considered good and positive, stressing that the law will be approved during the current session after resolving the controversial issues.   LINK

Before The OPEC+ Meeting Tomorrow... Iraq Comments On The Price Of $100 Per Barrel

Time: 10/03/2023   Read: 871 times    {Economic: Al-Furat News} The Ministry of Oil confirmed that the rise in oil prices to $100 per barrel in global markets depends on several factors, including supply and demand.

Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told Al-Furat News Agency: “The oil market is affected by a group of factors, including geopolitical and natural factors, as well as supply and demand, speculation, security events, wars, and the pandemic. These are all factors that negatively and positively affect the oil market.”

He added, "What OPEC, OPEC Plus, and Iraq is a part of is aiming to achieve stability in the oil market, which will reflect positively on the economies of countries, whether consuming or producing," noting that "achieving balance and appropriate prices are important for producers and consumers, with ambition for realistic prices."

Jihad stated that "prices reaching $100 per barrel are imposed by the increase in demand for oil due to many circumstances facing the global economy, including the Russian-Ukrainian war," explaining that "the increase in demand is reflected in oil prices."

He pointed out that "the most important thing that OPEC Plus aims to achieve is stability and ensuring the balance of the oil market, and this reflects positively. The most important thing we aim for is achieving balance and stability in the process of oil supplies, supply and demand."

The OPEC+ alliance, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in addition to Russia and other allies, will meet tomorrow, Wednesday, but it is unlikely to modify its current oil production policy.

Oil prices fell today to $89 per barrel.

BMI Research analysts said, “Given the slowdown in the global economy, the group is likely to want to maintain its current cuts, while indicating scope for further cuts if market conditions warrant it.”

“In theory, under the terms of the OPEC+ agreement, production (non-GCC) should remain flat during the fourth quarter. However, Iraq’s compliance has been somewhat spotty in the past, and export levels are expected to rise, assuming The pipeline will resume operations.   Raghad Dahham  LINK

State Of Law: For This Reason, The Implementation Of The Federal Budget Law Was Delayed

Politics   10/03/2023 Number of readings: 174 Baghdad - Iraq Today:  The representative of the State of Law coalition, Khadija Wadi, confirmed that there is no problem or stoppage in the release of governorate allocations from the budget, indicating that their release is awaiting the approval of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al- Sudani.

Wadi said in a press statement, “Talk about there being a problem or a halt in the release of governorate allocations from the financial budget is inaccurate, as it is only awaiting approval by Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani.” She added, "There is direct communication between the Sudanese and the governorates regarding the issue of allocations and projects, as the financing of project allocations in the governorates will be approved soon."

She explained, “The governors were hosted in the Parliamentary Finance Committee to discuss this issue, and there are no problems in this regard.” She indicated, "Strategic service projects will be worked on in various governorates, and their budget allocations will be distributed according to population density."  LINK

The Dollar Is At A New High Amid Strong Data

Economy |Today  Baghdad today - follow-up  The dollar rose to new high levels, today, Tuesday (October 3, 2023), and pushed the yen down, closer to the scope of authorities’ intervention, after strong economic data in the United States reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve (US Central) would keep interest rates high for a longer period.

The euro reached its lowest level in more than a year against the dollar, falling below the January low of 1.0482, as surveys of the manufacturing sector issued in both Europe and the United States on Monday highlighted the disparity between the two economies.

The dollar index rose about 0.5 percent to 107.06, and at one point reached 107.12, the highest level since November 2022.

A survey released on Monday showed that the US manufacturing sector took another step towards recovery in September as production rose and employment rebounded, and also showed a significant decline in the prices that factories paid for inputs.

The dollar received support from rising US Treasury bond yields, while strong economic data reinforced expectations of keeping interest rates high for a longer period.

The rise in the US currency led to increased pressure on the yen, as it pushed it closer to the 150 level overnight, which the markets consider to be the limit that could motivate the Japanese authorities to intervene, as happened last year.

In the latest trading, the yen recorded 149.80 against the dollar, remaining close to the lowest level overnight of 149.88.

The euro fell to $1.0462 in Asian morning trade, the lowest level since December last year, after a euro zone Purchasing Managers' Index survey showed on Monday that demand continued to contract at a pace that has rarely been exceeded since the data was first collected in 1997.

The British pound recorded $1.20790 in recent transactions, the lowest level since March 16.

The Australian dollar remained roughly stable ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate decision later on Tuesday. A Reuters poll of economic experts showed that the Australian Central Bank will keep the key interest rate steady at 4.10 percent, but with the expectation of another hike in the next quarter to 4.35 percent, as inflation remains above the target rate.

Source: investing.website   LINK

Points to Ponder From Aristotle:

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. 

Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean, relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it. 

Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts. 

Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.