Dollar and coin prices fluctuated in Iran's free market
Reports from Iran indicate that the dollar rate in Iran's free market entered the 11,000 toman channel on Wednesday, July 16, and fluctuated widely throughout the day.
Tasnim news agency reported that the price of the dollar in Iran's free market reached 11,230 tomans. A source in the Iranian market also told Radio Farda that the price of the dollar at the time of this report (Wednesday evening) was around 11,200 tomans, which is about 1,800 tomans lower than 10 days ago.
However, late Wednesday, the price of one US dollar reached 11,770 Tomans.
Data on the price of the dollar on specialized currency sites and exchange offices indicate that the currency price has reached its lowest level since January of last year.
Shortly before the US withdrawal from the JCPOA in May last year, the price of foreign currencies in Iran increased, and in the summer of last year, the price of the dollar even reached 19,000 Tomans.
This figure briefly dropped to around 11,000 Tomans in mid-January and then rose again to over 12,000 Tomans. The dollar price has fluctuated between 13,000 and 16,000 Tomans in recent months.
Majid Reza Hariri, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce, cited the decrease in demand for foreign exchange due to the decline in people's purchasing power and the pressure of the Central Bank to return the exported foreign exchange as reasons for the dollar entering the 11,000-toman channel.
Recently, Abdolnaser Hemmati, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, announced an "increase in oil revenues" and a "greater return of export currency," which could be a factor in the decline in the exchange rate.
It is also said that the reduction in the difference between the price of the Nimai currency and the currency in the free market has caused many importers of goods to reduce demand for dollars.
According to Iranian customs statistics, the country's imports decreased by about 7.8 percent in the first quarter of the year to about $10.2 billion, but non-oil exports remained unchanged at $11.5 billion.
Thus, Iran's non-oil exports in the spring of this year were higher than the country's imports.
The US ended waivers for Iranian oil buyers in May this year, and reports indicate that the country's oil exports have fallen below 300,000 barrels per day, down from 2.5 million barrels per day.
With the fall in the exchange rate in the open market, the value of the Bahar Azadi coin has also decreased.
The price of the Bahar Azadi coin on Wednesday decreased by 1.3 percent compared to Tuesday, reaching three million and 900 thousand tomans.
This figure was 4.7 million tomans in early July 2019, and on Monday of this week, when the dollar rate was around 12,600 tomans, it was selling for around 4.275 million tomans.
Source: Radio Farda
