US dollar exchange rate increases in Baghdad, Erbil
An employee of a currency exchange shop shows a stack of Iraqi dinars in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar governorate. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The US dollar exchange rate against the Iraqi dinar rose in Baghdad and Erbil on Thursday with the closure of the two main stock exchanges in the country.
The US dollar exchange rate increased with the closure of Baghdad’s Al-Kifah and Al-Harithiya stock exchanges, where the exchange rate reached 1,474.5 dinars after it was 1,471 dinars on Thursday morning.
The exchange rate in currency exchange shops in Baghdad ranged between 1,485 dinars and 1,465 dinars, Shafaq News reported.
In Erbil, the US dollar exchange rate ranged between 1,473 dinars and 1,472 dinars.
The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) announced in February 2023 that it started applying the new exchange rate of the US dollar, which is 1,300 dinars against one US dollar.
The previous official exchange rate was 1450 dinars to one US dollar, which was being exchanged in the parallel market at a rate of 1550 dinars.
In January 2023, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the local currency reached 1610 dinars, while the official exchange rate remained 1450 dinars per dollar, with a gap between the two exchange rates of more than 10 percent.