| 2008: Demand for dollar drops at daily dinar auction |
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March 31, 2008 Demand for the dollar was down in the Iraqi Central Bank's auction on Monday, the first this as Sunday’s session was cancelled due to the curfew placed on Baghdad, registering at $35.190 million compared to $93.270 million on Thursday. "The demand hit $4.690 million in cash and $30.500 million in money transfers outside the country, all covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,206 Iraqi dinars per dollar, a tick lower than the previous session," according to the central bank's daily bulletin which was received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI). None of the nine banks that participated in the auction offered to sell dollars. Ali al-Yasseri, a trader, attributed the low demand for the dollar in today's session to the tensions in Baghdad. From Last week, followers of the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr clashed with governmental forces in Baghdad and Shiite cities in southern Iraq, leading the security forces to impose curfew on six Iraqi provinces including Baghdad. On Sunday, Sadr ordered his followers off the streets while government welcomed the move and partially lifted off the curfew in Baghdad. The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday, but yesterday’s session was cancelled as Baghdad was placed under curfew. Source: Voices of Iraq |