TNT:

Tishwash:  Al-Kazemi's advisor talks about the dinar's rise against the dollar

Adviser to the Prime Minister for Financial Affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed, on Friday, that the improvement in the value of the dinar is subject to several conditions that must be met and achieved, specifying the rate of high inflation in the country.

Saleh said in a statement, followed by NRT Arabia, (June 25, 2021), that "the improvement in the value of the Iraqi dinar is related to the economy's ability to grow if significant growth is achieved in the economy and not rent growth," explaining that "expectations indicate a current growth of 2.5%, and this growth corresponds to real population growth.

He added, "This needs proper development, reducing unemployment, increasing job opportunities and flourishing investment projects, which encourage and generate income that compensates for oil and gives sustainability in returns and sustainability with the strength of the economy."

Saleh explained, "There are two important things, the first is the monetary policy that maintains the stability of the exchange rate and creates a stable environment for a long period, and the second is to support investment projects for development and growth, because without growth the situation will be bad."

And regarding the rate of high inflation, Al-Kazemi’s advisor indicated, “There are two types of goods, tradable goods, most of which are imported and linked to the exchange rate, and non-tradable goods that are local, such as services and others.”

He stressed, "If we collect tradable and non-tradable goods, we will find that inflation did not increase more than 6%, and therefore it is considered reasonable and controlled inflation compared to the significant devaluation of the dinar   link

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Tishwash:  Al-Kazemi signs 200 billion dinars to the Kurdistan Region

An official source in the Kurdistan Regional Government said on Friday that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi signed an official letter to disburse 200 billion dinars as an advance allocated to pay the salaries of employees working in the public sector in the region.

This was also confirmed by the spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government, Jotiar Adel, in a press statement he made today to Kurdistan TV.

The spokesman said: Soon the federal government will send this amount to the Kurdistan Region.

And the Minister of Planning in the Kurdistan Regional Government, Dara Rashid, announced on Wednesday that the federal government will send 200 billion dinars, with a retroactive effect, until the Board of Supreme Audit finishes auditing the region's imports.

Al-Kazemi had said in a press interview with the semi-official Iraqi channel, which was broadcast yesterday evening, Thursday, that: The Kurdish people are our people, and what we paid is an advance for the purpose of paying the salaries of the region’s employees. Accounting operations after the Audit Bureau's inventory of all accounts.   link

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Tishwash:  Al-Waeli: The Minister of Finance pledged to facilitate the procedures of petrodollar funds

The Parliamentary Finance Committee revealed, today, Friday, the details of the meeting that it gathered with Minister of Finance Ali Abdul-Amir Allawi. 

Committee member Majid Al-Waeli told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The committee met with Finance Minister Ali Allawi to discuss a number of topics, the most important of which are petrodollar funds," explaining that "the Ministry of Finance was interpreting the issue of petrodollar funds incorrectly, and this arranged high funds for him." It's in the tens of trillions."

He added that "the Finance Committee clarified the financial burden of the petrodollar fund within the accounts of the committee is 3.5 trillion dinars, and one trillion is in the budget, which remains 2.5 trillion allocated from oil imports, and within the accounts of the committee that 1.5 dollars for each barrel of oil is supposed to go to petrodollar funds.

He continued: "After this correction, the Minister of Finance expressed his willingness to reverse his decision to stop the implementation of this paragraph, and therefore it will be implemented in order for the oil-producing governorates that have oil activity to enjoy in order to reflect on service projects and provide job opportunities and service to the citizen."  

He pointed out that "the committee discussed the automation of border crossings and customs," noting that "the Minister of Finance gave us messages of reassurance that the file is in the process of implementation, and will provide revenues to the state."

And he indicated that "the committee discussed with the minister the appointments and their suspension, and the violations of the law in some ministries."

He explained, "The ministry argues that it does not control the procedures, due to the lack of a clear database, and therefore we indicated that there is an article in the budget that states that the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Communications is involved to launch government identifiers (biometric card) or a functional financial number to control the intersection of information and control the financing of government departments, and within Our expectations are that the largest funding is salaries, and it may be an increase in funding of up to 15% as a result of the lack of control from the ministry on this file, and therefore we expect the funding to decrease and move towards real funding and the real numbers of employees by 15%, which is not a small amount.” 

He pointed out that "the follow-up to the numbers and barcodes placed in the budget was discussed, and so far it is not in control of the Ministry of Finance, in addition to financing projects and investment plans in the governorates, which is also a lagging file, and the ministry argued that not all governorates complete the investment plans and reconstruction."

And he indicated that “according to the budget law for the year 2021, the Finance Committee stipulated that investment plans pass through it, but the ongoing projects are not concerned, considering the plans have been in place for years, but are quickly checked and passed to the Ministry of Planning,” noting that “the reconstruction plan for new projects is concerned and the committee is following it up.” And distribute it correctly to sectors and to all provinces.

He pointed out that "the number of provinces that submitted their plans to the ministry correctly is only three, Karbala, Najaf and Anbar, and the Ministry of Finance is waiting for the completion of the procedures of the remaining provinces so that they can finance the amounts," stressing that "the ministry does not have a problem with funding, but is waiting for plans from the provinces." "

He continued, "The committee discussed with the minister the issue of economic security, price control, and the measures taken by the ministry due to the repercussions of the dollar exchange rate and the rise in prices, and the minister indicated that there is a rise in global prices in general as a result of the Corona pandemic, and now prices have begun to stabilize, and we may notice during the coming period." This is reflected in domestic prices, in addition to the failure of the security authorities concerned with economic security and the failure to hold accountable the unjustified rise in prices by importers and traders,” noting that “the Ministry of Agriculture has a ban on many crops that have an actual need, and the lack of coverage from the local product.” What caused the price hike?
Yesterday, Thursday, the Media Department of the House of Representatives announced that the Finance Committee had discussed three files with Finance Minister Ali Allawi.

The department stated in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "the Parliamentary Finance Committee hosted the Minister of Finance and Director General of the Accounting Department."

She added that "this came regarding the implementation of the paragraphs of the 2021 budget and the automation of customs and border crossings." He pointed out that "the number of provinces that submitted their plans to the ministry correctly are only three, which are Karbala, Najaf and Anbar, and the Ministry of Finance is waiting for the completion of the procedures of the remaining provinces so that they can finance the sums." He stressed that "the ministry has no problem with funding, but is waiting for plans from the governorates."

He continued, "The committee discussed with the minister the issue of economic security and price control and the measures taken by the ministry due to the repercussions of the exchange rate and the rise in prices, and the minister indicated that there is a rise in global prices in general as a result of the Corona pandemic, and now prices have begun to stabilize, and we may notice during the coming period its reflection on domestic prices." As well as the failure of the security authorities concerned with economic security and the failure to hold accountable the unjustified rise in prices by importers and traders,” noting that “the Ministry of Agriculture has a ban on many crops that have an actual need for them and the lack of coverage from the local product, which caused a rise in prices. ".

Yesterday, Thursday, the Media Department of the House of Representatives announced that the Finance Committee had discussed three files with Finance Minister Ali Allawi.

The department stated in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "the Parliamentary Finance Committee hosted the Minister of Finance and Director General of the Accounting Department."
She added, "This came regarding the implementation of the 2021 budget paragraphs and the automation of customs and border crossings."   link

Tishwash:  Oil jumps the barrier of $ 75 a barrel... A bet on the caution of Iraq and the producing countries

Oil prices rose for a third consecutive session on Friday, on course for a fifth consecutive weekly gain, as demand growth is expected to outpace supply on bets that OPEC+ producers will be wary of bringing more production back to the Gulf Cooperation Council.  

Brent crude futures rose 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $75.62 a barrel at 0646 GMT, heading for a 2.9 percent jump for the week.  

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $73.35 a barrel, heading for a weekly gain of 2.4%.  

The two benchmark contracts settled at their highest levels since October 2018 on Thursday.  

All eyes are on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and allies - together called OPEC+ - who are due to meet on July 1 to discuss further easing of production cuts from August.  

On the demand side, analysts said the main factors that OPEC+ will have to take into account are strong growth in the US, Europe and China, buoyed by the release of vaccines and the reopening of economies, offset by rising COVID-19 cases and outbreaks elsewhere.  

The prospect of lifting sanctions on Iran and hitting more of its oil on the market has diminished any time soon, with a US official saying "serious differences" remain over a range of issues over Iran's compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.   link

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Mot:  almost Worked!!! ~~~