Sunday Iraq Economy News Highlights 5-22-22

Finance Committee: The Food Security Law will include the addition of 500 billion dinars to serve Baghdad

Posted On 2022-05-21 By Sotaliraq   On Saturday, the Parliamentary Finance Committee announced that the draft food security law will include the addition of 500 billion dinars to serve Baghdad and Sadr City in particular.

The head of the Finance Committee, Hassan Al-Kaabi, said in a statement that “the emergency support law for food security and development will include, for the first time in 18 years, additional allocations to the Baghdad Municipality,” explaining that “500 billion dinars will be allocated only to serve and reconstruct the capital, Baghdad, and Sadr City in particular.”

Al-Kaabi indicated that "the Finance Committee will hold a number of meetings this week to complete the provisions of the Food Security Law proposal to expedite its second reading and vote on it soon."

And on Thursday (May 19) the House of Representatives completed the first reading of the proposed law on emergency support for food security and development.

On Wednesday (18 May), the Parliamentary Finance Committee submitted this proposal to the presidency of the Iraqi parliament as an alternative to the project submitted by the current caretaker government headed by Mustafa Al-Kazemi.

On Sunday, May 15, 2022, the Federal Supreme Court (the highest judicial authority in Iraq) decided to cancel the draft law on emergency support for food security and development based on a lawsuit filed by Representative Basem Khashan, while it indicated that the Al-Kazemi government is a conduct of business and is not entitled to send bills and hold contracts. Loans, appointment to senior state positions, exemption from them, or restructuring of ministries and departments.   LINK

Finance Spent 2 Trillion Dinars For Erbil In The First 3 Months Of 2022

Money and business    Economy News-Baghdad  Data from the Ministry of Finance showed that 2 trillion dinars were paid by the government to the Kurdistan region in the first quarter of 2022.

This comes at a time when the Erbil government insists not to deliver its exported oil imports to Baghdad, despite the Federal Court's decision regarding the illegality of the mechanism for selling oil and gas in Kurdistan.

Yesterday, the Federal Ministry of Oil talked about the possibility of establishing an oil company in Kurdistan that would take it upon itself to sell oil from Kurdish fields under the supervision of the central government in Baghdad.    https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=28106

Finance Spent 2 Trillion Dinars For Erbil In The First 3 Months Of 2022

Money and business   Economy News-Baghdad   Data from the Ministry of Finance showed that 2 trillion dinars were paid by the government to the Kurdistan region in the first quarter of 2022.

This comes at a time when the Erbil government insists not to deliver its exported oil imports to Baghdad, despite the Federal Court's decision regarding the illegality of the mechanism for selling oil and gas in Kurdistan.

Yesterday, the Federal Ministry of Oil talked about the possibility of establishing an oil company in Kurdistan that would take it upon itself to sell oil from Kurdish fields under the supervision of the central government in Baghdad.    https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=28106

Baghdad Reveals The "Restructuring" Of Oil Contracts In Kurdistan And Threatens Violators With Legal Measures

Shafaq News/ The Ministry of Oil in the Federal Government revealed, on Saturday, its intention to "restructure" oil contracts in the Kurdistan Region, threatening the violating companies with legal measures.

The ministry said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, "The federal government in Iraq is seeking to establish a new oil company in the Kurdistan Region, and it is expected that the new oil company in Kurdistan will enter into service contracts with oil companies there."

The ministry indicated that it "will seek to take legal measures against companies in the Kurdistan Region that do not negotiate with Baghdad to restructure contracts."

And the day before yesterday, Thursday, a document obtained by Shafaq News revealed that the Federal Oil Ministry will manage the file of exporting crude from Kurdistan Region, based on the decision of the Federal Supreme Court, "after matters reached a dead end in this regard."

The Federal Supreme Court had declared last February 15 that the oil and gas law of the Kurdistan Regional Government was unconstitutional and abolished, and obligating the regional government to hand over the entire oil production from the oil fields in the region and other areas from which the Ministry of Natural Resources in the Government of Kurdistan extracted oil and handed it over to the federal government, represented Federal Ministry of Oil.

The Kurdistan Region described the decision as "unconstitutional" and was based on a law dating back to the time of the previous regime, and the regional government stressed that "such an unconstitutional decision cannot be accepted."

And the Kurdistan Region began to sell its oil in isolation from the federal government, after a stifling financial crisis as a result of the collapse of oil prices during the ISIS invasion of areas in Iraq, in addition to the disputes with Baghdad that prompted the latter to stop paying the salaries of the region’s employees.

Baghdad says its national oil company, SOMO, is the only one authorized to sell Iraqi crude oil, but each side claims the constitution is on its side. Since the Iraqi oil and gas law remained imprisoned in the drafting stage due to differences, there was room for maneuver.  LINK

Gold Prices Are Rising In The Iraqi Markets

Shafaq News/ "Foreign and Iraqi" gold prices rose in the local markets, today, Saturday.

Shafak News Agency reporter said that gold prices in the wholesale markets on Al-Nahr Street in the capital, Baghdad, recorded this morning, the selling price of one weight of 21 karat of Gulf, Turkish and European gold amounted to 380 thousand dinars, and the purchase price of 376 thousand, while the selling prices for last Thursday were 372 Thousand dinars.

Our correspondent indicated that the sale price of one 21-carat weight of Iraqi gold was also stable at 340,000 dinars, and the purchase price reached 336 thousand.

With regard to gold prices in goldsmiths’ shops, the selling price of a 21-carat Gulf gold weight ranged between 380 thousand and 390 thousand dinars, while the selling price ranged between 340 thousand and 350 thousand Iraqi dinars.   It is equal to one mithqal of gold (five grams).  LINK

The River Street Stock Exchange In Baghdad Records A Slight Decrease In Gold Prices

Shafaq News/ "Foreign and Iraqi" gold prices decreased slightly in the local markets, today, Sunday (May 22, 2022).  Shafak News Agency reporter said that gold prices in the wholesale markets on Al-Nahr Street in the capital, Baghdad, recorded this morning, the selling price for one weight of 21 karat of Gulf, Turkish and European gold is 379 thousand dinars, and the purchase price is 375 thousand, while the selling prices for yesterday, Saturday, were 380 thousand. Dinar.

Our correspondent indicated that the selling price of one 21-carat weight of Iraqi gold was also stable at 339 thousand dinars, and the purchase price reached 335 thousand.

With regard to gold prices in goldsmiths’ shops, the selling price of a 21-carat Gulf gold weight ranged between 380 thousand and 390 thousand dinars, while the selling price ranged from an Iraqi gold weight between 340 thousand and 350 thousand dinars.   It is equal to one mithqal of gold (five grams).   LINK

Decline In Iraq's Oil Exports To America

On Sunday, the US Energy Information Administration announced that Iraq's oil exports decreased during the past week, reaching an average of 242,000 barrels per day.

The administration said: "The average US imports of crude oil during the past week from eight countries amounted to 5.881 million barrels per day, an increase of 238 thousand barrels per day compared to the previous week, which amounted to 5.643 million barrels per day."

And she added, "Iraq's oil exports to America amounted to an average of 242 thousand barrels per day last week, down by 84,000 barrels from the previous week, which amounted to an average of 326,000 barrels per day."

She noted that "most of America's oil revenues during the past week came from Canada, at a rate of 3.588 million barrels per day, followed by Mexico at a rate of 832 thousand barrels per day, and oil revenues from Saudi Arabia at a rate of 420 thousand barrels per day, and then Colombia at a rate of 365 thousand barrels per day."

According to the administration, "the amount of US imports of crude oil from Brazil amounted to an average of 264,000 barrels per day, from Nigeria at a rate of 127 thousand barrels per day, and from Ecuador at a rate of 43,000 barrels per day, while no quantity was imported from Trinidad and Tobago or Russia."   LINK

Dollar Exchange Rates In Local Markets

Economie    2022-05-22 | 02:49   Today, Sunday, the dollar exchange rates witnessed a slight decrease in the local markets.  The selling prices of the dollar were 148,250 dinars per $100, while the purchase prices of the dollar were 148,000 dinars per $100.

Earlier, he decided  Central Bank of Iraq  Adjusting the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar, as the purchase price of the dollar from the Ministry of Finance amounted to 1450 dinars, while the price of selling it to banks was set at 1460 dinars per dollar, while the selling price to the citizen was 1470 dinars per dollar.  LINK

The President Of The Kurdistan Government Leaves For Davos To Attend The Forum

Posted On 2022-05-22 By Sotaliraq   Baghdad - Ibtihal Al-Arabi   Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani headed to Switzerland to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos.

A statement said yesterday that (the President of the Region will participate in the framework of the activities of the Global Forum, in a panel discussion entitled “A New Security Structure in the Middle East”). The forum will start on the 22nd of this month until the 26th of this month.

On the sidelines of the forum, Barzani will hold a series of meetings and meetings with senior officials, businessmen and economists in the region and the world.

The forum also includes the latest developments in Iraq and the region, during which it will discuss issues of diversifying the economy and sources of income, the importance of developing and reforming the banking system, and finding new markets for Kurdistan's products and agricultural crops. The Davos Economic Forum returns to the meeting in attendance, after a two-year interruption due to the restrictions imposed by the Corona pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Iraq and the Integrity Commission in the Kurdistan Region signed a cooperation agreement to curb money laundering and terrorist financing.

A statement received by (Al-Zaman) stated that (under the auspices of the Chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Council, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, and based on the office’s tasks in combating money laundering and terrorist financing crimes, and based on the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law No. 39 of 2015 the office signed an agreement He cooperated with the Integrity Commission in the region to work on facilitating the exchange of information with the office regarding suspicious financial operations, and limiting money laundering and terrorist financing operations).

He added that (the agreement aims to advance an Iraqi reality that is protected from money laundering crimes, prosecute those wanted by the Iraqi authorities, and recover smuggled corruption funds in line with the Iraqi constitution and Iraq's obligations towards international organizations related to combating money laundering and terrorist financing, which require concerted local efforts to confront these crimes and combat their emerging methods). LINK