At a Glance

• Currency markets across Erbil and Slemani remain volatile following recent federal monetary adjustments, with a significant gap remaining between official and market exchange rates.

• Market rates place 100 US dollars at 165,500 dinars in Erbil and 165,750 dinars in Slemani, compared to the official Central Bank rate of 152,000 dinars.

• Erbil currency market spokesperson Kaify Khoshnaw noted that high merchant demand for cash wire transfers to import goods has driven the continued devaluation of the dinar.

• Experts emphasize that narrowing the 13,500-dinar spread will require direct interventions to increase physical dollar liquidity in open markets.

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Financial markets in the Kurdistan Region continue to grapple with instability as foreign exchange dealers and merchants adjust to recent shifts in federal monetary policy, highlighting persistent pricing gaps across regional trading hubs.

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Key Statements and Focus Area

• Persistent Spread: Currency exchange desks report that the price for 100 US dollars hovers around 165,500 dinars in Erbil and 165,750 dinars in Slemani. This creates a wide margin of roughly 13,500 dinars when measured against the official Central Bank rate of 152,000 dinars.

• Commercial Demand: According to Erbil exchange spokesperson Kaify Khoshnaw, heavy commercial demand for dollar remittances to facilitate overseas goods importation has intensified downward pressure on the local currency over recent sessions.

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While federal leadership has vowed to minimize disparities between official valuations and open market realities, currency experts argue that tangible stabilization will remain elusive until physical dollar supply is actively expanded within local markets.

FYI

The Central Bank of Iraq manages official exchange rates and foreign currency allocations to regulate market stability, though commercial demand and cash liquidity fluctuations frequently create pricing disparities in regional parallel markets.

The Prime Minister of Iraq has promised to reduce the price gap between the official rate and the market rate.

Kaify Khoshnaw says, 'Until cash dollars are officially increased in the markets, that difference cannot be reduced.'

This instability and disparity come about a week after changes made by the federal government to the value of the dinar against the dollar.

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