Iran’s currency falls to record low against the dollar
Iran’s currency falls to record low against the dollar
Updated 1d 12h ago
HASAN SARBAKHSHIAN, AP
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s currency hit a record low against the dollar in street trading, the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported Sunday.
Mehr says the rial dropped nearly 7% in a day, to 24,300 rials to the dollar. Street traders say the rial rose slightly later Sunday to around 23,900 rials to the dollar.
The collapse of the currency is a sign of the effect of Western sanctions. Western countries have imposed economic sanctions because they suspect Iran is aiming to build nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.
On July 1, the European Union banned imports of Iranian oil, and the U.S. tightened sanctions against Iran’s banks.
On Friday, Canada cut diplomatic relations with Iran over its nuclear program, support for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime and the country’s poor record on human rights.
The governor of Iran’s central bank, Mahmoud Bahmanai, said the plunge of the rial was the result of a rush by buyers seeking dollars, rather than other economic reasons.
The official exchange rate is 12,260 rials to the dollar, but that is used only for special purposes, such as importing food and medicines.
Last week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran faced “barriers” to transfer its oil revenue into the country because of the sanctions. Crude exports account for about 80% of Iran’s foreign currency revenue.
Also Sunday, lawmaker Ahmad Tavakkoli criticized the government for allegedly failing to provide enough hard currency, readily accepted on international markets. He said for the past two weeks, the Ahmadinejad administration refused to supply the market with hard currency.
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