Wednesday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 4-5-23

Wednesday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 4-5-23

The Central Bank Expects The Dollar Exchange Rate To Continue To Decline

Economical  2023/04/05   Shukran Al-Fatlawi   The Central Bank of Iraq has suggested that the dollar exchange rate will continue to decline in the parallel market during the coming days, attributing this to a number of reasons, including the packages of measures taken by the monetary authority, the great response of merchants and banks, and adherence to the bank’s directives regarding the instructions of the currency sale window, while specialists in economic affairs praised, With the "macroeconomic policy" that has been reflected in strengthening the dinar and will lead to reducing or ending the difference between the official and parallel exchange rates.

The opinions of the specialists coincided with the Central Bank’s suggestions that the exchange rate of the parallel dollar would continue to decline, as experts confirmed that the coming days will witness a clear relative stability in the foreign exchange rate, stressing that this matter will be accompanied by a decrease in the prices of imported goods and materials, especially after it touched the exchange rates of the dollar. In the parallel markets, the barrier of 148 thousand dinars per 100 dollars, which is what specialists see as an important step resulting from the continuous measures of the Central Bank.

And the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Ammar Hamad Khalaf, believes that “the recent decline in the dollar was not born of the hour, but rather due to previous measures, especially the procedural packages launched by the Central Bank and the response of the market, merchants and banks to the directives and instructions of the Central Bank, and all of this helped to provide the dollar to the beneficiaries.”

Khalaf added, "The central bank sells more than 200 million dollars a day, all for real and organized purposes by the merchant and by the bank, and all of this helps in lowering the dollar exchange rate," expecting "a further decline in the future as long as there is a response by sectors and merchants." .

In turn, the financial expert, Dr. Amr Hisham, counted in an interview with "Al-Sabah" the drop in the exchange rates of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar as expected, resulting from the state of health due to the increase in foreign reserves amounting to 115 billion dollars, which is the record that has not been achieved in the history of Iraq.

Hisham also pointed out that "the measures that have been taken with regard to the electronic window, the dollar supply outlets and the supply of dollars to travelers, as well as the use of the Iraqi dinar in buying and selling operations, are all combined factors that have led to an increase in confidence among citizens and merchants, and thus reflected positively on the issue of expectations."

Therefore, expectations turned from pessimistic to optimistic, in addition to increasing the percentage of central bank sales to more than 200 million dollars.

And the financial expert added, “The increase in strengthening balances abroad, those that acquire sales, and not cash sales balances as it was in the past. Or ending the difference between the parallel market price and the official price of the Iraqi dinar.

For his part, economist Dr. Adnan Bahia told Al-Sabah that “the slow gradual decline in the dollar is better than the sudden decline for the citizen,” pointing out that the decline in the exchange rate occurred as a result of the recent measures taken by the Central Bank, foremost of which is the increase in the outlets that offer the dollar, as well as Commitment to the exchange rate by many banks and the prevention of speculation, not to mention the increase in exchange with what is presented daily from the dollar to the markets and it is constantly increasing, i.e. the application of the theory that if supply increases, demand decreases.

Baheya pointed out that there is a balance in favor of the citizen in the process of decline, because the lower the price and the smaller the difference between the parallel and the central bank rate, the better it will be in the interest of the citizen through lower prices, especially those imported from abroad.

He noted that the treatment paper put forward by the Central Bank, if all of them were implemented, especially those related to obligating all banks and sales outlets to have an electronic board linked to the Central Bank to define the official price of the state, would be sufficient to end the process of manipulation and speculation between merchants and exchange houses, which are simple, fast and inexpensive procedures that will organize this process. and pour in  Citizen's benefit.   https://alsabaah.iq/74665-.html

Sunnis Reject The Budget Law Because It Is Devoid Of Jobs

Baghdad - Iraq today:  The Sovereignty Alliance announced its rejection of the draft federal budget law sent by the Council of Ministers to Parliament, while revealing the reasons.

The representative of the coalition, Abdul Karim Abtan, said in a press interview, "The reasons for the Sunni representatives' objection to the budget are that it lacks job grades, and it also lacks investment projects," stressing that "the budget law in its current form does not support the private sector."

Abtan added, “The other objection comes to presenting a budget for three years, without taking into account fluctuations in the market,” noting that “the fluctuation of oil prices also affects the budget, and that the approval of $70 per barrel is not commensurate with market fluctuations."

He pointed out that "the deficit constitutes a large percentage of the total value of the budget, and thus does not serve the citizen," noting that "the budget does not contain any allocations to the liberated areas, which have suffered for long periods and need reconstruction."   LINK

Parliamentary Finance: The Budget Will Deal With The File Of Those Whose Contracts Have Been Terminated And The Lecturers Installed

Iraq  2023/04/05   Muhannad Abdel Wahhab   Since its receipt of the draft budget law, the Parliamentary Finance Committee has been discussing and studying it in a manner that takes into account the higher interests of the country and the rights of all segments.

And the head of the committee, Atwan Al-Atwani, reassured, in a statement, that "the 2023 budget focused on the priorities of the government curriculum, which include upgrading the service side, implementing strategic projects in the field of electricity and infrastructure, completing lagging projects, especially hospitals, as well as building specialized centers to treat heart diseases, cancer, and others."

Al-Atwani explained that "the budget also included dealing with the file of those whose contracts were terminated in the security ministries, examiners in the Ministry of Defense, confirmation of contracts and lecturers, in addition to a monthly financial grant for university and school students, and the expansion of social welfare coverage to 650,000 new beneficiaries, and other items that address the demands of segments of society." Many, in an effort to address the crisis of poverty and unemployment.

And he stressed, "the serious endeavor to expedite the completion of the requirements for approving the budget to enable the government to perform its duties and obligations before the people and implement the paragraphs of its ministerial platform."

On the other hand, the Parliamentary Rights Bloc considered that the budget included several paragraphs that would need to be reconsidered, including the three-year budgets, in addition to the high inflation rate, optimism about oil price estimates as found in the budget, as well as the few financial allocations for the provinces compared to their needs.

The head of the bloc and a member of the Parliamentary Integrity Committee, Saud Al-Saadi, told Al-Sabah: “The budget includes issues that need to be reviewed and modified,” noting that “there are some political forces that object to some paragraphs in the budget, including the high rate of inflation and the price of a barrel of oil.” estimated, as well as offering three budgets for the next three years, weak financial allocations for some governorates and some issues that sparked some reactions.

The deputy indicated that "there are calls from the government to the parliament to quickly discuss and approve the budget because of its impact on people's lives," noting that "the prime minister is ready to come to parliament and open the door for discussions and answer the parliament's questions."

Edited by: Ali Abdel-Khalek    https://alsabaah.iq/74677-.html

A Former Deputy Outlines The "Risks" Of The Tripartite Budget...And Presents Several Proposals

Policy  |Baghdad today – Baghdad  MP and former member of the Finance Committee, Magda Al-Tamimi, today, Tuesday, outlined what she described as the "risks of the tripartite budget" that the government sent to the House of Representatives.

Al-Tamimi said, in a statement received by "Baghdad Today," that "the danger of the tripartite budget lies in the foundations of its estimates, its construction, and the philosophy of the state's work, and also in the high estimates of the price of a barrel of oil, as well as the high estimates of other revenues with high total expenditures."

And I suggested that “the budget be until 12/31/2023 in the year 2023, and it could be three years later, so that the government can prepare and develop plans and detailed programs to leave the status of allocations in the investment budget for what is called contractors’ investment towards real investment through which the investor implements the project.” With his money and not with the money of the state treasury.

And Al-Tamimi continued, “In return, several goals will be achieved, the first: achieving benefit for the state by obtaining a percentage of the revenues in addition to taxes, and the second: activating the private sector, employing manpower and reducing unemployment, and the third: achieving benefit for the citizen by providing him with fast and high-quality services as well as Speed ​​and fourth: reduce corruption and waste of public money.   LINK

High Oil Prices.. Brent Records 85.32 Dollars Per Barrel

Economy  |Today, 08:53   Oil prices rose in early Asian trading, on Wednesday, due to a decline in US crude stocks and the latest cut in production targets for the OPEC + alliance.

Brent crude futures rose 38 cents to $85.32 a barrel at 0021 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 33 cents to $81.04 a barrel.

Prices received support from what sources quoted from the American Petroleum Institute data on Tuesday, which showed a decline in US crude stocks by about 4.3 million barrels in the week ending March 31.

Gasoline stocks fell by about four million barrels, while distillate stocks fell by about 3.7 million barrels, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

The official inventory report by the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, is due at 1430 GMT on Wednesday.

Recent targets set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, also helped push up oil prices.

The OPEC + plan will increase the total size of the cuts to 3.66 million barrels per day, including a cut of two million barrels last October, equivalent to approximately 3.7 percent of global demand.   LINK