Thursday AM Iraq Economy News Highlights 7-7-22

Khazali Explains The Possibility Of Passing The Budget During The Era Of The Caretaker Government

Economic  Last Update 07/07/2022 | 8:59 AM  The Information/Baghdad...  Legal expert Raqiah Al-Khazali explained the possibility of passing the 2022 budget by Parliament in light of the presence of the caretaker government in power.

Khazali told "Al-Maalouma", that "the current government is a caretaker and cannot send a budget to Parliament for its legislation, because it does not have the legal right to raise bills, including the budget."

She added that "passing the budget is by going towards forming the new government, which in turn studies the budget and submits it to Parliament for a vote."

And she indicated that "the budget can be legislated during the era of the current government by voting by members of Parliament by a simple majority within the House of Representatives, and therefore these votes give the government the legal framework to raise the budget in order to vote on it." finished 25

https://almaalomah.me/2022/07/07/607389/

Negotiations For Choosing The Two Presidencies Postponed Until After Eid, And The Oil Dispute Puts Pressure On The Kurdish Axis

July 6, 2022  Erbil - Baghdad - Abdul Hussein Ghazal   The political forces postponed their negotiations until after the Eid regarding the new Iraqi government and the appointment of the two presidencies, as it seemed New differences surround the path between Erbil and Baghdad in this regard. Where

On Wednesday, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq condemned the “unfair pressure” that it considered the Federal Oil Ministry It is practicing it against it, days after a judicial decision that invalidated the contracts of oil companies with the region that enjoys subjectively.

Informed sources expected that the oil dispute would be an obstacle to the political rapprochement of the Kurdistan Democratic Party with the framework The Shiite coordination after he left the alliance with Al-Sadr, who resigned from the entire political process.

On Monday, a commercial court in Baghdad, following a lawsuit filed by the Iraqi Oil Ministry, annulled contracts signed between the Iraqi government. Territory and Canadian, British, American and Norwegian companies.

This decision is a new chapter in the conflict between the region and Baghdad over how to manage the oil file. And last February, the Federal Supreme Court obligated the region to hand over all the oil produced on its territory to the government Federal, granting it the right to review all oil contracts in the region and thus invalidate them.

Baghdad has since been trying to implement this decision, which is opposed by the Kurdistan region, which wants to maintain independence in the Gaza Strip energy

During a meeting on Wednesday, the Kurdistan Regional Council of Ministers reviewed “the constitutional, judicial and legal steps related to the Kurdistan Regional Government.” against the unjust and unconstitutional pressures exerted by the Iraqi Federal Oil Ministry,” according to a statement. The statement added that the council stressed “not to waive the constitutional rights and entitlements of the people of the Kurdistan region.” in any way.”

A senior official in the oil sector in Baghdad told AFP that the canceled contracts are for Western Zagros Canada , DNO of Norway , HKN Energy , which is also located in Texas, and Genel, which has a presence in the stock exchange in London.

The source, who preferred not to be identified, explained that “the Commercial Court invalidates all contracts concluded that the It does not comply with the decision of the Federal Court.

He pointed out that the government had filed lawsuits against seven companies in total, operating in the Kurdistan region, as well as by right The current and former Minister of Natural Resources in the region, in the context of this file.

In this context, Schlumberger , Baker Hughes and Halliburton announced that they will not provide On new projects in the Kurdistan region in compliance with the decision of the Federal Court,” according to a statement by the Iraqi Oil Ministry on Monday .

The statement added that the companies "are now in the process of liquidating and closing existing tenders and contracts."

For its part, the region demands to negotiate a solution with the federal government regarding this file and has filed two lawsuits One of them is against the oil minister.

Iraq has enormous oil resources, representing 90 % of its revenues, but the oil file often constitutes a source Because of the tension between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government, in June, Iraq exported more than 101 million barrels of oil, with revenues amounting to 11.5 billion dollars, according to preliminary government figures .  The Kurdistan region produces more than 400,000 barrels per day.  LINK

A Decrease In The Exchange Rates Of The Dollar In Iraq

Economie  2022-07-07 | 02:33  3,468 views  Alsumaria News – Economy Alsumaria News publishes the exchange rates of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar in the Iraqi local markets on Thursday.

The selling prices of the dollar were 148,400 dinars per 100 dollars, while the purchase prices of the dollar were 148,300 dinars per 100 dollars.  LINK

The Dollar Rises Against The Iraqi Dinar

Economie| 09:28 - 07/07/2022  Baghdad - Mawazine News  The dollar exchange rates witnessed an increase, today, Thursday, in the Iraqi local markets.  And the selling prices of the dollar were recorded at 148.750 dinars per 100 dollars, while the purchase prices of the dollar were recorded at 147.750 dinars per 100 dollars. https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=198755

Oil Price Hike

Economie| 09:08 - 07/07/2022  Follow-up - Mawazine News: Oil prices rose today, Thursday, after falling during its early opening, with investors apprehensive about the state of tight supplies that overshadowed fears of a possible global recession.

Brent crude futures rose 55 cents, or 0.5%, to $101.24 a barrel by 04:45 GMT, after hitting a session low of $98.50 earlier.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 47 cents, or 0.48%, to $99.00 a barrel.

On Wednesday, both benchmarks closed at their lowest level since April 11.

The declines came after Tuesday's big drop despite tight global supplies, with West Texas Intermediate crude down 8%, while Brent crude fell 9%, a drop of $10.73 and the third biggest drop in the decade since trading began in 1988. .

Traders are watching for possible oil supply disruptions at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which has been told by a Russian court to suspend activity for 30 days.

Industry data on Wednesday showed that US crude stocks rose by about 3.8 million barrels last week, according to market sources. Gasoline stocks fell by 1.8 million barrels, while distillate stocks fell by 635,000 barrels.

However, with commodity traders turning into a keen risk aversion due to rising demand and concerns about the Fed's (US) hawkish policy, major recession risks are an anvil around the market's neck.

Oil prices fell along with other commodities such as metals and palm oil as central banks around the world raised interest rates to fight inflation, raising fears of a recession that could dampen demand for commodities. https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=198752

Industry: Iraq Imports 10 Million Tires Annually

Economie| 12:03 - 07/07/2022  Baghdad - Mawazine News  The General Company for Rubber and Tire Industries of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals confirmed that Iraq annually imports about 10 million tires from different origins, while it announced plans to rehabilitate its factories.

The company's general manager, Haider Nasser, said, "The Babylon tire factory is suspended due to the lack of modernization lines and marketing centers," noting that "the company's laboratories date back to the seventies of the last century,"

and added, "Iraq imports 10 million tires annually from various origins." He explained that "the company has a contract of participation in the waste tire recycling treatment project and has achieved many sales of its products." Ended 29 / p. 87   https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=198748

Customs: Revenues Last Month Recorded A Qualitative Leap That Has Not Been Achieved In Years

Economie| 06:05 - 06/07/2022    Baghdad - Mawazine News  The General Authority of Customs announced, on Wednesday, the revenues it achieved during the month of June, which recorded a qualitative leap not recorded in previous years.

The authority said in a statement that Mawazine News received a copy of it, that the continuous follow-up of the Director General of Human Rights, Mr. Shaker Mahmoud Al-Zubaidi, and his wise directives to the regions and customs centers to collect customs duties, resulted in achieving revenues amounting to more than (99) billion dinars during the month of June 2022, previously not Registered in previous years for the same month.

She added, that this achievement was achieved despite zeroing customs duties for foodstuffs and construction materials and exempting them from fees according to the decision of the Council of Ministers, but we were able to achieve this achievement thanks to the conscious management of the Director General, despite the short period in which he took over the management of the authority. Ended 29/R77 https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=198713

Eid Fever Hits Markets, Poverty Rates Jump To 31%

Posted On2022-07-07 By Sotaliraq   Baghdad / Mustafa Al-Jourani   Similar to the epidemics afflicting Iraq, local markets in all governorates witnessed the spread of a fever, but this time it was not a sick fever, but an economic fever represented by the high prices of clothes and other materials in conjunction with the approaching Eid al-Adha.

On (March 8, 2022), the Council of Ministers approved a number of additional decisions to confront the crisis of high international prices and take the necessary measures to support food security in the country, including those related to wheat prices and support the ration card.

Citizens expressed their dissatisfaction with the noticeable rise in prices in the markets a few days ago, which coincides with the approaching Eid al-Adha, calling on the government and the concerned authorities to "immediately intervene."

Umm Ahmed, a resident of the capital, Baghdad, said in her interview with (Al-Mada), that “the markets witnessed a significant increase in prices without warning,” stressing that “clothing prices were the most affected by the process of raising prices by merchants in most provinces.”

Umm Ahmed added, "Some importing traders raced to increase the prices of materials in the markets, under the pretext of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the high prices of sea freight."

For his part, one of the clothes merchants said, "There is a significant decline in the purchase of Eid clothes, unlike what happened during last year's holidays, which witnessed a great turnout, especially in the few days before Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha." In an interview with Al-Mada, the trader Ibrahim Bassem indicated that "the markets these days are suffering from a clear and great recession for many reasons, most notably the high prices and the political conditions that the country is suffering from, which cause fear among the street."

Bassem reveals that he has suffered a great loss as a result of the economic stagnation in Iraq and for consecutive days, noting that “traders importing goods are the ones who control the markets, especially since Iraq is a consumer country and depends mainly on imports.”

In the meantime, one of the merchants of Al-Shorja area in the center of the capital, Baghdad, says that prices have increased these days by about 25%, and the reason is due to the rise in the source and the high cost of shipping.

The trader, who preferred not to reveal his name, explained to (Al-Mada), that “the rise in prices has nothing to do with holidays, and even if there is no Eid in this month, the prices will be the same.”

In turn, the researcher in economic affairs, Nabil Al-Tamimi, said in an interview with (Al-Mada), that “Iraq suffers from a structural defect in the nature of the political system, which can be described as a (sterile) system that is unable to adopt strategies or policies beneficial to the Iraqi people. The circumstances that coincided with the formation of governments during the past 19 years are exceptional circumstances in which Iraq faced major financial and security shocks and crises.

Al-Tamimi points out that “the current government, despite its constitutional description as (the caretaker government), has broad and great powers, including the powers to spend according to the Financial Management Law No. 6 of 2019 and (its amendments), which authorized the government to spend equivalent to what it spent in the past year. , that is, up to 120 trillion dinars during this year, in addition to the legislation of the emergency support law for food security and development, which added to the government, and authorized it to spend another 25 trillion dinars, a large number that may exceed 145 trillion dinars during this year only.

On a related level, the economist adds, “A large segment of citizens was affected during the period of the spread of the Corona pandemic due to social restrictions and restrictions, which may cause those outside the (functional environment) to accumulate debts and economic damages that they have suffered for a longer period than after the end of those restrictions. Without governmental responsibility towards these segments, as is the case in the rest of the world.”

Al-Tamimi went on, saying that “the damages of that segment rose again when the government and the Central Bank of Iraq imposed a change in the dollar exchange rate against the dinar; This contributed to the rise in price inflation by about 18%, which put pressure on the entry of these weak and fragile segments.”

According to Al-Tamimi, (global monetary easing policies) produced inflationary processes in global prices prior to the European (Russian-Ukrainian) crisis, which was referred to by international organizations such as the FAO and the World Food Program, which caused an increase in the suffering of the poor and middle segments inside Iraq.

He concluded his speech by saying, “The European crisis and the Russian war have caused more pressures on prices, especially the prices of fuel, energy, grains and oils; What constituted additional inflation was paid for by the poor, for all of the above, the recent events between 2020-2022 have caused the poverty rate to rise to significant levels, up to 31%.” In addition, economic expert Duraid Al-Anzi said, in an interview with (Al Mada), that “the phenomenon of high prices during holidays and special occasions is normal, and it occurs in all countries of the world.”

Al-Enezi indicates that with “prices rising beyond the normal level, the matter becomes worrying, and urgent government intervention is needed to reduce it,” pointing out that “the government is required to carefully study the markets and know the needs, especially before any occasion in the country.”

He added, "Providing the goods required by the government makes merchants in a competitive stage with the government, and therefore they reduce prices instead of raising them on occasions."  LINK