2026-08-04T21:26:11+00:00

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Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s currency in circulation reached 113.560 trillion
dinars ($86.3B) in May 2026, adding 13.761 trillion dinars ($10.6B), or 13.8%,
from the end of 2025, according to a review by Shafaq News on Tuesday.

Currency in circulation rose steadily during the first five
months of 2026, starting at 99.799 trillion dinars ($76.8B) in December 2025
before reaching 101.431 trillion dinars ($78.1B) in January. The figure then
climbed to 104.614 trillion dinars ($80.5B) in February, 108.985 trillion
dinars ($83.8B) in March, 112.896 trillion dinars ($85.8B) in April, and
113.560 trillion dinars ($86.3B) in May.

The largest monthly change came in March, when currency in
circulation expanded by around 4.371 trillion dinars ($3.4B). The amount
recorded another gain of 3.911 trillion dinars ($3.0B) in April before slowing
in May, with an increase of about 664 billion dinars ($511M).

The rise coincided with pressure on Iraq’s public finances,
including a gap between government revenues and spending, disruptions in oil
revenue flows, and delays in salary payments for some state institutions.

Mahmoud Dagher, a financial and banking expert who
previously served as a director general at the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI),
described currency in circulation as a normal CBI operation but noted that it
had become the only available short-term measure to provide liquidity during
the current period.

Warning that the policy could contribute to inflationary
pressure and place additional strain on foreign currency reserves, he stressed
that Baghdad had limited alternatives and was forced to rely on the measure as
the lesser of two risks.

“Iraq did not have access to external financial support or
a sovereign wealth fund that could provide additional resources,” Dagher added,
pointing to limited alternative oil export channels.

Earlier today, the CBI reported that Iraq’s currency in
circulation stood at 113.560 trillion dinars ($86.3B) at the end of May 2026,
compared with 112.896 trillion dinars ($85.8B) a month earlier, as currency
circulating outside the banking system continued to expand.