ZCZC
BCN-08
IRAN-CURRENCY-POLITICS
Iran currency drops 18% in two days
TEHRAN, July 31, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Iran’s currency traded at a fresh
record-low of 119,000 to the dollar on Tuesday, a loss of nearly two-thirds
of its value since the start of the year as US sanctions loom.
The Iranian rial has been crashing in recent days as the country anxiously
awaits the reimposition of full US sanctions, starting on August 6.
It hit 100,000 to the dollar for the first time on Sunday and continued
its decline, losing 18 percent of its value in less than two days.
On January 1, the dollar was worth 42,900 rials.
The government has been in crisis mode, replacing its central bank chief
last week.
The central bank issued a statement on Monday, blaming the currency
volatility on the “enemies’ conspiracy” and vowing fresh counter-measures “in
the coming days”.
In April, the government tried to fix the value of the rial at 42,000, but
black-market rates exploded as Iranians rushed to illegal traders, seeking to
protect their savings by buying dollars, or investing in the hope that the
rial would continue to fall.
With banks often refusing to sell their dollars at the artificially low
rate, the government was forced to soften its line in June, allowing more
flexibility for certain groups of importers.
Having announced in May that it was pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal,
the US is set to reimpose its full range of sanctions in two stages on August
6 and November 4.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1105 hrs