| 2007: ICB policy drives inflation rate down-MP |
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December 8, 2007 Head of the parliament's economic committee said on Saturday that the monetary policy pursued by the Iraqi Central Bank (ICB) over 2007 had contributed to driving the country's inflation rate down. "The Iraqi dinar value has increased against the dollar leading Iraqis to keep their reserves in dinars rather than in dollars as was the case before 2003," MP Haider al-Ibadi told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Al-Ibadi, who blamed the high prices of most commodities and services in the local market for the international decrease in the dollar rate against other currencies, also said "Two more causes (local) contributed to the hike in the prices: first, Iraq has not completely transferred to the free market economy and second the monopoly of some wholesales traders on particular commodities and services."
"The economic recess seen in Iraq for the past year is attributed to the high inflation rate that cripples the local market," the Shiite legislator said.
In July 2007, the inflation rate reached 41 percent according to statements made by the Iraqi Central Bank's governor Sinan al-Shabebi.
The Iraqi parliament's economic committee chief told VOI "the Iraqi Central Bank now controls the monetary market in the country, and its efforts have contributed to driving the inflation rate of the consumable commodities down by 15% from 57%."
The government, according to al-Ibadi, will raise the salaries of the civil-servants and the retired in order to enhance their purchasing power and create a balance in the Iraqi market.
"A highly ranked committee was set up to draw up a clear vision to the future Iraqi economy," he explained.
The legislator also noted that there were many factors that would strengthen the country's economy by introducing the economic reforms and controlling the excessive imports in order to protect the local products.
"Laws organizing the entry of commodities should be enacted provided that the new acts are not contrary to the Iraqi economy transfer to the free market," al-Ibadi concluded.
Source: Voices of Iraq |