Iran Economy NewsIran central bank eliminates cheaper dollar rate: reports

Iran central bank eliminates cheaper dollar rate: reports

-

Reuters: Iran’s central bank has eliminated a subsidized, cheaper rate for foreign currency and reported a weaker official rate in its place, according to Iranian media and the central bank’s website on Saturday. By Yeganeh Torbati

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s central bank has eliminated a subsidized, cheaper rate for foreign currency and reported a weaker official rate in its place, according to Iranian media and the central bank’s website on Saturday.

The Iranian rial has lost much of its value in the last two years, under pressure from international sanctions over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program that have limited the country’s oil sales, cut its access to the global banking system, and made it more difficult for it to earn foreign exchange.

On Saturday, the central bank on its website listed the price of a dollar at 24,779 rials. Iran’s Mehr and ISNA news agencies said that rate would replace the previous official “reference” rate of 12,260 rials to the dollar.

There was no statement from the central bank on Saturday explaining the change.

The new rate is still far stronger than the value of the rial in Iran’s unofficial market of small currency traders, where most Iranians can access hard currency.

The rial was trading for about 33,000 to the dollar in the open market on Saturday, currency-tracking websites said, less than half of its value in 2011.

Since January 2012, the Iranian government had maintained a subsidized rate of 12,260 rials to the dollar, meant to be used for importing the most vital goods such as food and medicine.

But critics of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Parliament have accused his government of misusing the cheap dollars, including by allocating them for the illegal import of luxury cars.

And health officials have accused the government of failing to provide billions of cheap dollars earmarked for medicine imports, driving up their cost at home.

Iranian media said the newly announced rate means the government now recognizes only one official rate for the rial.

At times in the last year, the government had recognized multiple rates in a tiered system designed to provide dollars at prices depending on what class of imports they were being used to purchase, with basic goods prioritized over what were considered luxury items.

(Editing by James Jukwey)

Latest news

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Iran’s Youths Have Highest Unemployment Rate

The Iranian regime’s Eghtesad News website reported that data from the Statistical Center of Iran shows that the youth...

Must read

Iran sticks by nuclear plans despite U.N. pressure

Reuters: Iran on Thursday once again rejected international calls...

Chavez visits Iran days after signing nuclear deal with Russia

CNN: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is set to arrive...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you