Financial tsunami may affect Iraq – experts

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi economists and experts agreed that the current global financial crisis may affect Iraq, possibly reflected on oil prices that represent 80 percent of the country’s income, in addition to U.S. dollar instability that will come along. Abduelhussein al-Anbaki, the economic advisor for the Iraqi premier, told IraqiNews.com, “The most important threat to the Iraqi economy due to the international financial crisis is recession in western countries’ economies, as it would affect oil prices that represent a major source of income for Iraq.” “There is also the reliance of stock markets on U.S. economy,” he said. “A domino effect is looming, and we have no solutions for this issue,” he added. “Our countries are shock-absorbers. A solution should be sought by the countries where the crisis has unfolded,” he noted. “The Central Bank of Iraq should reconsider its policies for more than two years from now,” he asserted. Sattar al-Bayiati, an economic researcher, said “Capitalism, represented by the U.S., currently suffers a serious crisis that may not stop within the U.S. border.” “But, it is not yet an international crisis,” he added. “Iraqi economy suffers obvious problems, but during this stage of the crisis, Iraq’s losses are limited to oil prices and the fluctuation in the U.S. dollar,” he explained. For his part, Majid al-Sowari, a banking expert, said “the crisis of U.S. economy started with the mortgage market, but the U.S. dollar remained as it is. In fact it has become stronger, as many countries contributed to stop this crisis by injecting huge funds in the U.S. markets.” “Only oil prices may affect Iraq, not any crisis in stock markets, and oil prices rely on the U.S. dollar,” he asserted. MH (S)/AmR 1