US Dollar Rate Falls Below 21,000 Tomans in Iran’s Free Market
The US dollar rate in Iran’s free market on Wednesday, Ordibehesht 15, declined to 20,850 tomans, marking the lowest level since last summer.
The dollar rate at the beginning of last year stood at 16,000 tomans, but reached a peak of 32,000 tomans in autumn of that year and has been declining with fluctuations over recent months.
In recent weeks, the dollar rate in Iran’s free market had been fluctuating between 22,000 to 25,000 tomans, but has declined with a gentle downward slope in recent days.
The dollar price in Iran’s free market on Wednesday showed a decline of more than six percent compared to the previous day.
The price of Bahar Azadi gold coin has also shown a downward trend in recent weeks along with the dollar rate.
The Bahar Azadi coin, which had reached 15 million tomans at the peak of the dollar rate last autumn, was traded below 9 million tomans on Wednesday.
Fluctuations in the currency market in Iran’s free market last year were largely concurrent with the extensive injection of foreign currencies into the market by the Central Bank, but this financial institution has not provided statistics on the amount of currency injection into the market in recent days.
However, some media outlets and conservative faction representatives claim that the Central Bank has injected more currency into the market to adjust its rate amid nuclear negotiations. Representatives of Iran and member states of the JCPOA commission are negotiating in Vienna for Tehran and Washington to return to their commitments under the JCPOA.
Abdolnasser Hemmati, the governor of Iran’s Central Bank, on Tuesday of this week, dismissing conservative accusations, stated that these days some statements are attempting to portray the Central Bank’s measures to adjust the currency rate, which is in line with “efforts to strengthen the value of the national currency and respond to the important demands of the people,” as a political action.
International data, including tanker tracking companies and credible news agencies such as Bloomberg and Reuters, show a peak in Iran’s oil exports over the past four months.
Average daily oil exports from Iran to China last calendar year were assessed at 320,000 barrels per day, but this figure has more than doubled in the past four months.
On the other hand, Iran’s non-oil exports, according to Iran’s Customs Administration, grew 80 percent in Farvardin of this year compared to the corresponding month of last year.
Source: Radio Farda
