Iraqi central bank reserves rise to $64 billion ​

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s foreign currency reserves have risen by more than $10 billion as a result of higher oil prices, an official source told the state-owned newspaper on Monday.

The Iraqi central bank’s reserves have increased from $51.9 to $64 billion "due to a rise in the oil markets," an anonymous source from the bank told al-Sabah newspaper. 

Record low oil prices during the pandemic last year contributed to a financial crisis in Iraq, but a recent boost in the oil market and the central bank’s decision in December to devalue the dinar have eased the crisis as the Iraqi government depends on oil revenues to cover its costs and pay the salaries of its civil servants.

Iraq exported over 98 million barrels of crude oil last month, bringing in $7.590 billion, the oil ministry said in its monthly report. In October, it increased exports by more than four million compared to the month before. 

Iraq is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. In April, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said the government has “succeed in stopping the waste of money and corruption in the notorious central bank auction.” 

Last year, the government announced a series of economic reforms titled the White Paper which includes financial, economic and institutional reforms.

The White Paper makes it clear that the causes of Iraq’s economic and financial woes date back several decades, providing a detailed outline of the factors that have distorted the country’s economy and its failure to keep pace with the economic developments the world has witnessed.