The economist, Nabil Al-Marsoumi, confirmed that the only solution to reduce the gap between the official price of the dollar and the parallel price in the market is the international understandings about paying countries’ dues for imports of goods and merchandise in dollars and the large withdrawal on it in the currency auction, noting: “This rise came to settle the sums of trade and import from neighboring countries.”

Al-Marsoumi said, in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA), that “the sales of the Central Bank of Iraq increased, especially during the past months of April and May, and restored their previous levels before launching the electronic platform,” noting that “the increase in sales confirms the compliance of Iraqi banks with the rules for working on the electronic platform created by the US Federal Bank, and thus a large number of bank transfers were successfully executed.

He explained: “The large gap between the official selling price of the dollar and the parallel market, despite the Central Bank’s measures, is caused by the use of cash dollars to settle trade with neighboring countries, especially Iran, as it is subject to US sanctions that prevent it from obtaining dollars directly,” noting that “Iraq imports goods and products from Iran amounting to 10 billion dollars annually, and this prompts the need to find certain mechanisms to finance trade with Iran.”

The economist stressed, “The need to find understandings between the Central Bank and the US Treasury to implement a mechanism that enables Iraq to pay the Iranian side’s dues for goods, such as choosing an alternative currency for the dollar,” noting that “failing to find a settlement for this matter keeps the dollar’s prices fluctuating no matter what the Central Bank of Iraq’s sales amounted to dollars.”

Source: National Iraqi News Agency