prices<\/a> remain between $55 and $60 per barrel, while government spending
\nstays elevated, Iraq’s foreign reserves could come under pressure.<\/p>\n\u201cFunds are unlikely to decline sharply in the near term but
\ncould gradually erode if oil income continues to fall without meaningful
\neconomic reforms,\u201d he told Shafaq News, suggesting that protecting them
\nrequires diversifying the economy, increasing non-oil returns, and encouraging
\ninvestment and domestic production rather than relying solely on oil, Tarish
\nargued.<\/p>\n
According to former CBI Director General Mahmoud Dagher, the
\nimpact of foreign currency reserves on ordinary Iraqis is indirect, and most
\nfelt when speculation drives up demand for US dollars or confidence in the
\nmarket weakens. He said rumors about the economy or Iraq’s oil exports often
\nprompt citizens and traders to buy dollars, increasing demand and pushing up
\nexchange rates on the parallel market. Because Iraq relies heavily on imports,
\nany rise in the dollar’s value ultimately increases the cost of imported goods
\nand weakens the purchasing power of the dinar.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Shafaq News, expert Mohammed Al-Hassani noted
\nthat the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) does not use its holdings to finance the
\nstate budget. Instead, the funds are used to maintain monetary stability,
\nsupport the Iraqi dinar’s exchange rate, secure US dollars for imports, and
\nstrengthen investor confidence in the country’s economy. He added that part of
\nthe reserves is invested in safe, highly liquid financial instruments held by
\ninternational institutions to preserve their value and ensure they remain
\nreadily available when needed.<\/p>\n
Despite the concerns, the Prime Minister’s Financial
\nAdviser, Mudhir Mohammed Saleh, told Shafaq News that the CBI’s foreign
\ncurrency reserves remain within safe levels under international standards,
\ncovering about 12 months of Iraq’s imports compared with the global benchmark
\nof three months. \u201cThe reserves give the Central Bank significant room to
\nintervene in the foreign exchange market and support the dinar, while noting
\nthat exchange rate stability also depends on oil prices, government revenues,
\nthe efficiency of the banking sector, and confidence in the economy.<\/p>\n
Read more: Iraqi experts divided on reviving the oil-reliant economy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026-07-07T23:36:28+00:00 font Enable Reading Mode A- A A+ Shafaq News- Baghdad Iraq’s foreign currency reserves have fallen 12…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[14],"tags":[152,57954,37987,94,261,57953],"class_list":["post-195201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iraq","tag-breaking","tag-experts-warn","tag-foreign-reserves","tag-iraq","tag-oil-prices","tag-oil-prices-pressure-iraqs-foreign-reserves"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116881478363145697","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}