Iraq reduces the price of the dinar against the dollar... and the Central Bank: economic reforms

The Central Bank of Iraq announced, on Wednesday, the devaluation of the local currency against the US dollar, bringing the price of the latter to 1,520 dinars instead of 1,300, a measure that the Central Bank described as part of “economic reforms.”

The Central Bank issued a statement in which it said that it was “a reference to the decision of the Council of Ministers taken in its twenty-second session on October 6, 2026, which includes adjusting the exchange rates of the Iraqi dinar against the US dollar in a way that meets the relevant financial, economic and monetary requirements.”

In a comment after the decision, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) quoted a statement from the Central Bank that “adjusting the exchange rate is part of a series of economic reforms.”

Director of the Statistics Department at the Central Bank, Samir Al-Waeli, said in a statement to Al-Iraqiya News: “Adjusting the exchange rate from 1,300 to 1,500 dinars to the dollar comes within a package of economic and financial measures and reforms imposed by exceptional circumstances that affected the state’s revenues and financing needs.”

Al-Waeli added that this “will maintain monetary and banking stability and is closer to the requirements of the overall balance of the economy,” explaining that “there are measures to stimulate the private sector and local production to contain the inflationary effects, including supporting competitive requirements, which makes monetary policy supportive of the overall economy.”

He continued his speech by saying: “The monetary situation is reassuring and foreign reserves are at comfortable and sufficient levels,” explaining that “the central bank has the ability to meet the demand for foreign currency to finance foreign trade.”