Iraq PM summons central banker as currency slides

Iraq’s premier summoned the central bank governor Tuesday amid worries sparked by a currency drop against the dollar, with lawmakers calling for an extraordinary session of parliament.

One US dollar traded at 1,580 Iraqi dinars on the street Tuesday, against the central bank rate of 1,470 dinars, state news agency INA reported. The drop, which began about two weeks ago, has sparked alarm in the media in the oil-rich country, and on Tuesday Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met the central bank governor to discuss the issue.

The cental bank has blamed the slump on “temporary pressures” sparked by the “adoption of new mechanisms to protect the banking sector, customers, and the financial system”. Iraq’s Association of Private Banks said the rate had risen as a result of changes to the “mechanism” of foreign currency sales due to international requirements.