Iraqi Dinar Tumbles as US Dollar Exchange Rate Hits New Heights

The US dollar exchange rate in Iraq has continued to rise, reaching new highs in Baghdad and Erbil. In the Iraqi capital, the exchange rate at al-Kifah and al-Harithiya stock exchanges rose slightly to 1,523.5 Iraqi dinars per US dollar by Thursday afternoon. The exchange rate at currency exchange shops in Baghdad ranged between 1,530 and 1,520 Iraqi dinars.

The Kurdistan region's capital of Erbil also saw a rise in the US dollar exchange rate, fluctuating between 1,525.5 and 1,525 Iraqi dinars per dollar. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) introduced a new official exchange rate in February 2023 of 1,300 dinars to every US dollar.

This new rate is significantly lower than the previous official rate of 1,450 dinars per dollar and even lower than the parallel market rate of 1,550 dinars during January 2023. The variation between the official and parallel market rates has been as high as over 10 percent in some cases.