Cash reserves held by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) fell by more than 70% during the first four months of 2026, according to official financial data, while the country's official exchange rate remained unchanged and inflation edged higher.

Cash Reserves Drop by Over 1.3 Trillion Dinars

CBI data shows that cash liquidity in the bank's vaults declined from 1.907 trillion Iraqi dinars at the end of 2025 to 566 billion dinars by the end of April 2026.

The decrease amounts to 1.341 trillion dinars, representing a 70.3% decline over the four months.

The data indicates a steady month-by-month reduction in available cash reserves. Cash liquidity stood at 1.524 trillion dinars at the end of January before falling to 1.005 trillion dinars in February.

The downward trend continued in March, when reserves declined to 849 billion dinars, before reaching 566 billion dinars by the end of April.

Exchange Rate Stable as Inflation Rises

Despite the sharp decline in cash reserves, the Central Bank maintained the official exchange rate at 1,300 Iraqi dinars per US dollar.

Over the same period, the average inflation rate increased from 0.9% to 1.7%, according to the CBI data.