Iraq Economic News and Points To Ponder Thursday AM 6-13-24
Iraqis Are Resorting To “Gold Bullion” Instead Of Money, And The Banking System Is Dying
Economy | Yesterday, 11:18 |Baghdad today - Baghdad Today, Wednesday (June 12, 2024), financial affairs expert Mustafa Hantoush revealed the reason why Iraqis are resorting to purchasing gold bullion in abundance during the current period.
Hantoush said in an interview with "Baghdad Today" that "recently, the demand for buying gold bullion has increased significantly by citizens, especially those with large sums of money.
They have begun to save that money through these bullion instead of depositing their money in banks." He stated that "the reason why citizens resort to buying gold bullion to save their money is as a result of the weakness of the banking system, lack of confidence in this system, and fear for their money due to American sanctions.
This is why we see the majority of Iraqis turning towards gold bullion, especially in light of the
high prices of the yellow metal and the
stability of this price and
its lack of fluctuation like the dollar.".
From mid-December 2022 until now, the Iraqi dinar has continued to fall against the US dollar, until it reached the level of 1,610 dinars against one dollar at a time when the official price of the dollar is 1,300 dinars.
With the decline of the national currency and the rise in poverty and unemployment rates, Iraqi gold markets recorded a large demand from customers to buy the yellow metal amid warnings against buying counterfeit ones.
According to data from the specialized website “Bloomberg”,
Iraq bought 33.9 tons of gold in the year 2022, while the Turkish Consul General in Erbil Hakan Karaçay revealed that Iraq imported Turkish gold worth $1.5 billion during the year 2021.
Iraq's gold reserves witnessed a noticeable increase during the month of February 2024, as International Monetary Fund data showed that Iraq had increased its possession of the precious metal by 3,079 tons, bringing the total to 145,661 tons.
This increase indicates Iraq's continued strategy to
diversify its foreign reserves and
enhance financial and monetary stability in the long term.
This step by Iraq comes at a time when the world is witnessing a rise in gold prices, as the price reached its highest level in its history last month above $2,400 per ounce.
Many simultaneous factors are strengthening the record levels of gold,
especially in light of the escalation of geopolitical tensions around the world, and
in light of the state of “uncertainty” surrounding the global economy, which supports the trend towards the precious metal as a traditional safe haven in the face of market fluctuations and dire scenarios that impose themselves on the market. the scene.
Iraq is among the countries that possess large amounts of gold reserves in the Arab region, as
it ranks fourth after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Morocco.
Iraq Raises Its Gold Possessions To More Than 145 Tons
Economy Possession of gold 2024-06-Shafaq News/ The World Gold Council announced on Thursday that Iraq has increased its gold holdings to reach more than 145 tons of global gold reserves.
According to the latest table issued by the Council for the month of June, viewed by Shafaq News Agency, the volume of Iraq’s gold possessions reached 145.7 tons, compared to 142.6 tons during the month of May.
The Council explained that Iraq dropped in rank to reach 31st place globally out of 100 countries listed in the table with the largest gold reserves, and
this amount represents 9.8% of the rest of its other reserves.
The Council indicated that the United States of America has the largest possession of gold in the world with 8,133.5 thousand tons, followed by Germany with 3,352.9 thousand tons, then Italy with 2,451.8 thousand tons, while Suriname came at the bottom of the list with 1.2 thousand tons.
It is noteworthy that the World Gold Council is based in the United Kingdom, and includes members of the largest gold mining companies in the world, and has extensive experience and deep knowledge of the factors affecting the gold market.
https://shafaq.com/ar/اقتصـاد/العراق-يرفع-حيازته-من-الذهب-ل-كثر-من-145-طنا
An Economic Expert Rules Out The Possibility Of Establishing A Sovereign Fund In Iraq... And Enumerates The Reasons
Time: 06/12/2024 15:24:35 Read: 1,638 times {Economic: Al-Furat News} An economic expert ruled out the possibility of establishing a sovereign fund in Iraq.
Salah Nouri, the former director of the Financial Supervision Bureau, told Al-Furat News Agency, “Sovereign funds are established to achieve mostly strategic development goals.”
He stated that "most of the sources of financing for sovereign funds for countries that possess natural resources are from the surpluses of these sources (oil and gas) or foreign exchange surpluses." He pointed out that
"the management of sovereign funds is independent and highly experienced in successful investment and developing fund returns." Nouri continued,
“From the above, I think Iraq is not prepared, as there are no surpluses from natural resources (oil and gas) for these funds.
Rather, revenues from the sale of oil are depleted in the general budget in addition to resorting to borrowing (external and internal).
On the contrary, Iraq is likely facing a financial sustainability deficit.” Borrowing results and benefits.
https://alforatnews.iq/news/خبير-اقتصادي-يستبعد-إمكانية-انشاء-صندوق-سيادي-في-العراق-ويعدد-الأسباب
An Economic Expert "Indicates" A Record Increase In The Volume Of Electronic Payments (POS)
Economy | Yesterday, 17:55 |Baghdad today – Baghdad Today, Wednesday (June 12, 2024), economic expert Manar Al-Obaidi indicated a record increase in the volume of electronic payments (POS) for the month of April 2024.
Al-Obaidi said in an explanation on his Facebook platform, followed by “Baghdad Today”, that
“electronic payments with local cards have reached a record level, the first to be recorded in Iraq, with the value of payments reaching 1.5 trillion Iraqi dinars, an increase of 77% annually. Monthly rate of 10%. He added,
https://baghdadtoday.news/uploads/posts/2024-06/1718202977_2.jpg
"Thus, the value of electronic payments for the four months of the year amounted to 5 trillion Iraqi dinars, while the total electronic payments for the year 2023 were approximately 9.6 trillion Iraqi dinars, and the total electronic payments for the year 2022 were 8.2 trillion Iraqi dinars," pointing out that
"it is expected to exceed Electronic payments this year exceed 30 trillion Iraqi dinars.” Al-Obaidi stressed,
“This increase is due to the policies that were taken, especially in the field of government transactions, which imposed exclusively electronic payment, and the increase in societal culture.”
To read more current and reliable Iraqi news please visit :https://www.bondladyscorner.com/
Provoking Thoughts and Points To Ponder On Adversity:
Necessity is often the spur to genius. -Honore de Balzac
Necessity is the mother of "taking chances." -Mark Twain
Necessity makes even the timid brave. -Sallust
People wish to be settled; only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict. -William Ellery Channing
Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records. -William A. Ward
I think there is this about the great troubles - they teach us the art of cheerfulness; whereas the small ones cultivate the industry of discontent. -Mary Adams
http://famousquotesandauthors.com/topics/adversity_quotes.html
