A currency exchange agent counts US dollars in a currency exchange shop in Basra, Iraq. Photo: Hussein Faleh/AFP
The parallel market rate hovered around the 157,000–157,500 IQD range across major regional hubs, maintaining a substantial premium over the official Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) rate of 130,000 IQD per $100.
The following data outlines the local market trading parameters registered during the afternoon session:
Baghdad Bourses (Al-Kifah & Al-Harithiya)
Selling Rate: 157,500 IQD per $100
Buying Rate: 157,000 IQD per $100
Erbil Bourse (Kurdistan Region)
Selling Rate: 157,000 IQD per $100
Buying Rate: 156,000 IQD per $100
Basra Bourse (Southern Region)
Selling Rate: 157,000 IQD per $100
Buying Rate: 156,500 IQD per $100
Financial analysts note that while the exchange rate has experienced a microscopic decline from earlier weekly highs of 158,000 IQD, a rigid parallel market premium continues to dominate domestic retail exchanges.
Sustained Parallel Demand: Despite aggressive interventions and consistent currency injections by the CBI through its automated electronic trade-financing platform, persistent local demand for physical cash dollars keeps the parallel market highly active.
Geopolitical Echoes: High-volume cash merchants continue to price in a risk premium due to ongoing regional trade anxieties and naval logistical bottlenecks in maritime shipping lanes, driving domestic market participants to preserve hard currency liquid reserves.
Slight Provincial Balancing: The convergence of the selling rates in Erbil and Basra at 157,000 IQD indicates a balanced commercial liquidity distribution across the northern and southern ports of entry, while Baghdad retains its historical status as the highest-priced premium hub due to heavy centralized corporate import hedging.
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