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Clare:  Al-Sudani: Inflating currency selling prices aims to remove the dollar from the country

December 19, 2022

Baghdad / Obelisk: Prime Minister Muhammad Sayaa al-Sudani said, on Monday 19/12/2022, that the price inflation operations in the currency sale window aim to remove the dollar from the country, indicating that transfers to fake companies were rejected and there are exaggerated prices in the currency sale window.

The Obelisk publishes clips of Al-Sudani's words during a press conference:

- There is a clear increase in the exchange rates of the dollar

Transfers to fictitious companies were rejected, and there are exaggerated prices in the currency sale window

– Inflating prices in the currency sale window, aimed at removing the dollar from the country

The government was and still is monitoring the policy of the central bank to ensure market stability

We assure everyone that the government has control over food prices and securing the ration card items

We asked the central bank to take quick steps to compensate for the dollar shortage in the markets

The Central Bank took measures related to diversifying foreign transfers to cover imports

The financial situation is at its best, and the reserves of the Central Bank have risen to $96 billion

We dismantled a large number of oil smuggling networks in Baghdad, Basra, Diyala and Kirkuk

We confiscated more than 1.7 million liters of smuggled oil derivatives and 66,000 tankers

There is a network of members of the security services that protected and facilitated the passage of tanks intended for smuggling

We arrested 18 members of this network

Previously, two million liters of derivatives were smuggled daily in Diyala and five million in Basra

The government continues to investigate the file of tax secretariat theft

We opened 42 schools in Baghdad, most of which were caravanserais

192 projects have been launched in 3 governorates within the emergency support allocations

These projects are out of 2932 projects in various service sectors

The security breach in Kirkuk comes after major victories for the security services in the past period

The Air Force launched strikes that resulted in the killing of several leaders of the terrorist ISIS

There is a plan to improve the ration card and direct it to the beneficiaries, especially the social protection category

Authorizing the service and engineering effort to carry out infrastructure works for residential areas in Baghdad and the provinces

Completion of the fifth phase of the Basra refinery project for catalyst cracking

– We decided to exclude the Iraqi Drilling Company from the instructions for executing contracts

There will be no settlement of the corrupt at the expense of public money

The government is keen to support the judiciary in anti-corruption measures

Installing free lecturers in all governorates will be completed next week  LINK

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Clare:  Fitch affirms Iraq at "b-" with a stable outlook

2022-12-22

Shafaq News/ Fitch Ratings confirmed Iraq's default rating at "B-" with a future outlook.

In a report seen by Shafaq News agency, the agency said that Iraq's classification "B-" reflects its high dependence on commodities, weak management, political risks, and an undeveloped banking sector, balanced with high foreign currency reserves and low interest costs on government debt.

He added that high oil prices improved many credit measures in Iraq in 2022, but the absence of structural, economic or financial reforms and the persistence of political risks restrict the rating.

 He pointed out that the main weaknesses of political risks: local and regional political risks and weak governance will continue to restrict the rating, pointing out that the consistently low scores for Iraq reflect through governance indicators political instability, corruption, government ineffectiveness, weak institutions and insecurity (although the bulk of the facilities Oil production and export is located far from the areas that posed the highest security risks).

He pointed out that the budget surplus will swell to about 10% of GDP in 2022, driven by higher oil revenues, while political instability and the absence of a budget restricted spending growth to some extent, indicating that oil production grew by 12%, in line with The OPEC+ production agreements have pushed real GDP nearly 10%, while nominal GDP likely grew by 36%, pushing the economy above levels reached in 2013-14 (although not per capita, in terms of strong population growth).

And the agency expected that the budget surplus will shrink, as it will be a much smaller surplus in 2023 at 2.2% of GDP. In the event that we assume an increase in spending by at least 10%, to reach 135 trillion Iraqi dinars, and that oil revenues will be moderate, as it amounts to Brent crude price will average $85 per barrel versus $100 per barrel in 2022.

He pointed out that the Ministry of Finance is currently preparing a draft 2023 budget to send to parliament, but it is unlikely that the 2023 budget will include financial reforms as outlined in a white paper in October 2020.

The agency projected a budget deficit in 2024 of about 3% of GDP, assuming an average Brent crude price of $65 per barrel, which despite some uptick in production would lead to a nominal decline in government spending (to $128). One trillion Iraqi dinars, according to our assumptions).  LINK

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Henig:  Economic consultant: The drop in the oil price not worrisome in light of the cumulative fiscal surplus

Baghdad / NINA / - The consultant in economic development and investment, Amer Al-Jawahiri, confirmed: "The drop in the oil price is not worrisome, in light of the cumulative financial surplus."

Al-Jawahiri said in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA): "The price of oil affects the price of a barrel decided in the budget. If the price of a barrel of oil falls, this will certainly affect the budget. "

Al-Jawahiry explained: "This is over the course of expectations and not over the course of the current days. The geopolitical expectations give indications to those responsible for the economic file by setting a normal price less than the predicted one in the budget. This matter does not worry, and it is extremely small in as it does not affect what we want to do in terms of financial, economic building and reconstruction.

He added: "There is a cyclical financial surplus, accumulated in the current year, which addresses the expected deficit."   LINK

Henig:  Oil prices rise by more than 2% and approaching $82 a barrel

Baghdad / NINA / - Today, oil prices increased by more than 2%, and approached 82 dollars per barrel.

Brent crude futures reached $81.82 a barrel, up by more than 2.3%, while US crude hit $77.77 a barrel, up by 2.11%.   LINK

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Henig:  Al-Sudani: The Baghdad Summit in Jordan affirmed Iraq's pivotal role in the region and the world

Baghdad / NINA / - Prime Minister Muhammad Shia'a Al-Sudani said: "The Baghdad Conference 2 Summit, hosted by sisterly Jordan, affirmed Iraq's pivotal role in the region and the world, and it will be a starting point for economic development and serious partnership, the basis of which is Baghdad of peace."

Al-Sudani added in a tweet on Twitter: "Thank you to all the countries participating in the summit, and we will continue to work with brothers and friends to achieve our economic and development goals in service of our honorable people."   LINK

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Henig:   26 Oil smuggling suspects arrested, 80% inspecting teams are replaced

INA – BAGHDAD

Energy Police Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior announced on Wednesday, the arrest of 26 suspects involved in smuggling operations of oil derivatives, as it revealed the replacement of 80% of the employees assigned to inspect tankers.

"The Directorate carried out in the last 21 days a series of qualitative operations against the smuggling of oil derivatives, during which 6 of them containing 17 tanks were seized and 26 accused were arrested," said the Director General of the Energy Police, Major General Dhafir Nadhmi, to Al-Iraqiya News TV, followed up by the Iraqi News Agency – INA.

He added, "The Directorate is currently carrying out operations in Basra against violators of oil taboos. All operations are carried out in coordination between the Energy Police, the Federal Intelligence Directorate and the National Security Agency."

"In the recent operations, 18 suspects belonging to the security services were also arrested, between an officer and a member. There are still 14 others on the run, and arrest warrants have been issued against them, as the work is ongoing to reach, arrest and investigate them in addition to the matter jointly between the Ministry of Interior and the National Security Agency,” he explained.

Nadhmi pointed out that "there is a coordination center with the KRG to follow up on the file of derivatives smuggling, based in the Ministry of Interior in Baghdad, in which information is exchanged and operations are carried out in coordination between the two parties," adding, "the tanks used in smuggling take unpaved streets, and this does not prevent them from being tracked and pursued. There are also tanks whose owners coordinate with corrupt members of the security services on the main roads.”

"In light of this, 80% of the ones on the main roads who were carrying out the task of inspecting the tanks were replaced. It is the fact that corruption is the main reason behind the smuggling operations,” he added.
 
In regard to the reason that made Basra and Diyala at the forefront of the provinces from which the derivatives tanks are launched with the aim of smuggling, Nadhmi commented, “Basra is the first oil province in Iraq with Diyala, the procedures were weak in them, and also most of the fields and facilities in Diyala were exposed to the control of terrorist gangs, previously.”   LINK