“Tidbits From TNT” Thursday 8-8-2024

EconomicsNews

Aug 8

TNT:

Tishwash: Iraq raises its gold holdings to more than 148 tons

The World Gold Council announced today, Thursday, that Iraq has increased its gold holdings to more than 148 tons.

According to the latest report published by the Council in August 2024, which was reviewed by Al-Eqtisad News, Iraq advanced one rank to reach 29th place globally out of 100 countries included in the table, after it was ranked 30th.

The report indicated that Iraq ranks third in the Arab world after Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.

The report indicated that Iraq increased its gold holdings to 148.3 tons, after it was 145.7 tons, which represents 10.02% of its total other reserves.

The Council also indicated that the United States tops the list of countries with the largest gold reserves in the world, with 8,133.5 tons, followed by Germany with 3,351.5 tons, then Italy with 2,814 tons, while Suriname came at the bottom of the list with 1.2 tons.

The World Gold Council, headquartered in the United Kingdom, has extensive experience in analyzing market changes and includes the world's largest gold mining companies as members. link

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Tishwash: Al-Qurayshi: Political and economic interests are behind the American forces remaining in Iraq

State of Law coalition member Saad al-Quraishi confirmed that political and economic interests are behind the continued presence of American forces inside Iraq.

Al-Quraishi told Al-Maalouma, “Political and economic interests may be an excuse used by some parties to keep American forces inside Iraq and not take a decisive decision to leave the country.”

He added, "Iraq cannot currently remove American forces from its territory due to the lack of political will."
He stated that "Iraq will not benefit at all from the presence of American forces on its territory, as Washington is the first party to benefit from the presence of its forces inside Iraq to ensure its dominance over the region."

He pointed out that “the American presence in Iraq was imposed by Washington and not at an Iraqi request.” link

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Tishwash: Saleh: There is no problem with liquidity at all, and what happened in the American markets requires caution.

The financial and economic advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, denied the existence of a problem with the cash liquidity in the Iraqi currency.

Saleh said in a press statement, "There is no problem with liquidity at all because it is covered by foreign currency," indicating that "the mechanism for obtaining cash liquidity is that oil sales are converted into US dollars, and when the government needs the dinar for internal exchange, it exchanges oil sales for dollars and goes to the cash issuing bank, which is the central bank, to give it the currency."

He pointed out that "the Central Bank, in order to maintain market stability, sells foreign currency to the market through a currency sale window and auction, to withdraw liquidity again and then repeat it again to achieve natural growth in the issued currency."

Regarding the size of the monetary mass, Saleh explained that “there was an increase in liquidity during the year, as the issued currency became around 100 trillion dinars, after it was 80 trillion dinars,” stressing that “these booms do not have an impact as long as they are covered by foreign currency.”

The Prime Minister's financial advisor believes that economic circles around the world were surprised by the sharp fluctuations and declines in the US stock market amid a wave of panic over fears of a possible recession in the world's largest economy, and that "these declines were based on a combination of local and global economic factors that led to a weakening of investor confidence in the performance of the US economy. If the situation continues for six consecutive months, the recession will turn into a major depression that will hit all economies around the world."

Saleh pointed out that “the US Energy Information Administration had previously announced that it expected average prices to reach about $89 per barrel for the rest of 2024, but there is a gradual decline in global oil prices, which has begun to coincide with the decline in the value of financial assets in the US markets, especially the decline in the benchmark oil (Brent crude), which ranges around $76 per barrel for futures contracts after reaching nearly $88 per barrel last June, which requires more caution and economic precaution.” link

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Tishwash: Al-Alaq: The financial situation in Iraq is going according to plan

The Governor of the Central Bank, Ali Al-Alaq, confirmed the stability of the financial situation in Iraq, and revealed new mechanisms to facilitate foreign trade, including a new mechanism for small traders’ transfers. He also pointed to the importance of the upcoming meeting in New York to resolve the problem of sanctioned banks, stressing the existence of a government move to strengthen the banking sector.

Financial situation in Iraq

Al-Alaq confirmed in an interview with the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that "the financial situation in Iraq is still proceeding according to what is planned in the state's general budget, despite external and local challenges." He explained that "there is high coordination between the Central Bank, the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance to ensure the stability and sustainability of the financial aspect."

He added: "We are working closely with the Ministry of Finance to implement the financial plan drawn up in the general budget, which ensures that the objectives, programs and needs are covered." He also pointed out that "the rotation of allocations for governorates and ministries is happening for the first time, which contributes to providing the necessary balances for their role."

Foreign trade

Al-Alaq stated that “the Central Bank is making a major shift in organizing foreign trade to achieve transparency in foreign transfer operations, starting from the transfer and reaching the final beneficiary.” He explained that “this process includes international auditing institutions to ensure that the information is in line with local and international standards.”

Al-Alaq pointed out that "the audit process used to be conducted later, but now the process does not proceed unless all conditions and documents are met." He stressed that "large and medium-sized importing companies have adopted this new system, which contributes to securing their imports with high fluidity."

Other international currencies

Al-Alaq said: “The Central Bank has opened channels for Chinese, Turkish, Indian and Emirati currencies, which represent a significant weight in foreign trade.” He added that “the suspension of these operations for a period was aimed at providing sufficient oversight of these operations, and that a new audit mechanism has been put in place by an international company.”

He explained that "commercial foreign transfer operations are now subject to review by the competent international company, to ensure the safety of the operations."

The difference between the market and the official price

Al-Alaq confirmed that "the Central Bank sells more than $250 million daily at the official price to cover foreign trade, which explains the absence of inflation or price increases." He explained that "the parallel market consists of illegal trade or trade escaping from the fundamental procedures."

Al-Alaq pointed out that "the view of the dollar price should focus on the Central Bank's sales at the official price to settle various needs."

low inflation

"The central bank's main goal is to maintain the general price level and limit inflation," Al-Alaq said. "Monetary policy has succeeded in controlling this aspect, as the level of inflation in Iraq is much lower compared to other countries," he added.

Cooperation with the US Treasury

Al-Alaq praised the cooperation with international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury, explaining that "there is great praise for the transformations, management and organization of the external transfer process in the Central Bank of Iraq."

Al-Alaq pointed out that "the Central Bank is working to create a direct relationship between the Iraqi bank and the correspondent without going through the Federal Bank, with the aim of facilitating transfer operations."

Upcoming meeting in New York

Al-Alaq announced that "meetings will be held with the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury Department at the end of August to review all aspects related to external transfer operations and discuss sanctions on some banks."

Lifting restrictions on banks

Al-Alaq stressed that "lifting restrictions on some banks is of interest to the Central Bank," noting that "the banking reform plan includes auditing previous operations and contracting with an international consulting firm to develop a future strategy for the banking sector."

Housing Initiative

Al-Alaq revealed "a government move to increase capital to support the housing sector through the Real Estate Bank and the Housing Fund." He added that "the Central Bank plays an exceptional role in bridging the housing financing deficit."

Al-Alaq explained that "the government will increase the capital of the Real Estate Bank and the Housing Fund to support the housing sector," stressing that "the Real Estate Bank will work to meet all requests to purchase housing units." link

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