Iraq expects $90 billion cash reserves by end of 2022

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Central Bank expects its cash reserves to reach $90 billion by the end of 2022, an official from the bank said on Sunday.

“The rise in the central bank’s reserves comes as a result of increasing global oil prices,” Deputy Director of the bank, Ammar Khalaf told Iraqi state media, adding that they expect the bank’s reserves to reach $90 billion at the end of the year.

Khalaf added that the current reserves of the bank exceed $80 billion and its gold reserves exceed 131 tons, following a 30 ton increase.

The country’s cash reserves has already increased significantly in comparison to last year.

The Central Bank in December said that their reserves stood at $64 billion.

Global oil prices have soared amid shortfall fears following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with the US repeatedly urging members of the Organization for the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase their oil production in efforts to stabilize the market. Iraq is also part of the agreement on production levels.

The Iraqi government is dependent on oil revenues to cover its costs and pay the salaries of civil servants. Despite suffering in much of 2021 due to record low oil prices, the country’s economy is once again booming as oil prices are increasing globally.

In its monthly report, the Iraqi ministry of oil revealed that the country exported nearly 102.4 million barrels of crude oil in the month of July, with an average export rate of 3.3 million barrels per day, and the revenue earned in the month reached $10.6 billion.

Iraq pocketed an estimated 61.371 billion dollars from oil exports in the first sixth months of 2022, almost doubling the figures from the first half of 2021 which was 33 billion dollars.