Iraq possesses 132 tons of gold reserves
Gold bars and coins are stacked in the safe deposit boxes room of the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich, Germany. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, announced that Iraq’s gold reserves are 132 tons, according to a statement cited by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
Al-Alaq stated that the CBI is planning to allow currency exchange shops to open outlets inside airports.
The CBI governor denied that 14 foreign banks would start operating in Iraq.
The CBI increased its gold reserves by about two percent in one day last May as part of a plan to increase stocks of gold, which is considered a traditional haven in times of economic crises, Bloomberg reported.
“Iraq bought 2.5 tons of bullion to bring its reserves to 132.73 tons,” the director general of the CBI’s investments department, Mazin Sabah, told Bloomberg in May.
Sabah also explained that the strategy is to buy more gold in the second half of 2023.
“Our current plan is to buy small quantities several times, not a large quantity at once,” Sabah added.
Central banks around the world are expanding their bullion holdings amid mounting geopolitical and economic risks.
Iraq, the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), resumed its purchases of gold in 2022 after a 4-year stoppage as part of a program to diversify its foreign assets.
The CBI bought 34 tons of gold in June 2022, representing an increase of 35 percent in its holdings.
The bullion is stored at the Bank of England and the Bank of France.
Sabah clarified that the CBI’s approach is to increase its reserves of gold whenever the price of the precious metal reaches a level compatible with investment management guidelines.