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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The prices of basic goods have soared in the Kurdistan Region following a dramatic drop in value of the Iraqi dinar against the US dollar and authorities have warned they will take legal action against anyone trying to exploit the crisis.
The Iraqi dinar has lost nearly 20 percent of its value in recent months, attributed to corruption, smuggling dollars into Iran, and pressure from the United States. The Iraqi Central Bank had already devalued the currency by 22 percent in 2020.
Flour, rice, legumes, teas, and cooking oil are among the goods whose prices have increased dramatically across the Kurdistan Region, according to official data obtained by Rudaw from authorities.
Nabaz Abdulhamid, mayor of Erbil, told Rudaw that they are monitoring prices.
"The spike in the value of the dollar has affected the whole of Iraq. We closely monitor the market, storehouses, and companies that import goods because they are the source of distribution. If any place exploits the increase in the dollar, they will face legal consequences," he said.
Soran Abdulghafour, the director of Sulaimani's commercial monitoring body, said they constantly monitor the prices in the market. "Our teams are trying to prevent exploitation and increase of prices," he told Rudaw.
The Duhok branch of the monitoring body said they are also monitoring the markets, but warned they cannot control the prices of goods that were imported after the value of the dinar plummeted.
Central and southern Iraq are also seeing the prices of basic goods soar.
A large number of people from the Tishreen (October) Movement - a popular protest movement that toppled the government of Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi in 2019 - held demonstrations in Baghdad on Friday, demanding the government take action to address the currency crisis.
Ahmed al-Sahaf, spokesperson for Iraq's foreign ministry, told Rudaw on Friday that an Iraqi delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, will discuss the unstable dinar-dollar exchange rate with US officials in Washington next week.
The Iraqi dinar slightly rebounded late Friday after Iraqi Central Bank Governor Ali Mohsen Ismail met with Brian Nelson, the US Department of the Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, in Istanbul.
"The US Treasury confirmed its support for achieving economic stability in Iraq," read a statement from the Central Bank.
The Iraqi dinar has lost nearly 20 percent of its value in recent months, attributed to corruption, smuggling dollars into Iran, and pressure from the United States. The Iraqi Central Bank had already devalued the currency by 22 percent in 2020.
Flour, rice, legumes, teas, and cooking oil are among the goods whose prices have increased dramatically across the Kurdistan Region, according to official data obtained by Rudaw from authorities.
Nabaz Abdulhamid, mayor of Erbil, told Rudaw that they are monitoring prices.
"The spike in the value of the dollar has affected the whole of Iraq. We closely monitor the market, storehouses, and companies that import goods because they are the source of distribution. If any place exploits the increase in the dollar, they will face legal consequences," he said.
Soran Abdulghafour, the director of Sulaimani's commercial monitoring body, said they constantly monitor the prices in the market. "Our teams are trying to prevent exploitation and increase of prices," he told Rudaw.
The Duhok branch of the monitoring body said they are also monitoring the markets, but warned they cannot control the prices of goods that were imported after the value of the dinar plummeted.
Central and southern Iraq are also seeing the prices of basic goods soar.
A large number of people from the Tishreen (October) Movement - a popular protest movement that toppled the government of Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi in 2019 - held demonstrations in Baghdad on Friday, demanding the government take action to address the currency crisis.
Ahmed al-Sahaf, spokesperson for Iraq's foreign ministry, told Rudaw on Friday that an Iraqi delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, will discuss the unstable dinar-dollar exchange rate with US officials in Washington next week.
The Iraqi dinar slightly rebounded late Friday after Iraqi Central Bank Governor Ali Mohsen Ismail met with Brian Nelson, the US Department of the Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, in Istanbul.
"The US Treasury confirmed its support for achieving economic stability in Iraq," read a statement from the Central Bank.
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