Page 27 - IRANRptAug19

external debt reached $286.2bn at the end of 2018, according to its central bank, Hurriyet reported.
Iran’s short-term external debt totalled $7.18bn at the end of March this year and $2.15bn is mid-term and long-term debts.
The central bank report then switches to euros saying, “Iran’s potential commitment was placed at €8.23bn of which €6.33bn belongs to mid-term and long-term debts and €1.86bn belongs to short term debts”.
“At end of March 2019, Iran’s external debt was placed at $9.3bn, recording a decrease of $0.4 billion over its level at end-February 2019." the CBI said. The CBI added, "At the end of March 2018, Iran’s external debt was placed at $11.3bn, recording a decrease of $2bn over its level during Iran’s fiscal year.”
7.0 FX
Iranian rial holds on to gains from 10% rally versus dollar
The Iranian rial on July 22 for a third straight day closed at around IRR121,000 to IRR123,000 to the dollar on the unofficial market.
Forex website Bonbast.com reported that the Iranian currency even strengthened to IRR118,000 to the USD on July 16. That followed a rally from the previous week, producing a gain of more than 10% for the rial, and occurring despite growing tensions with the US in the Persian Gulf centred on attacked oil tankers and shot-down drones.
Market observers said it was not clear why the rial rose, given the absence of any economic improvement in recession-hit Iran. The explanation, they said, could be signals coming from diplomatic channels that some sort of compromise might be in the works to reduce tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Some analysts said the rial regained its footing mainly because officials had successfully minimized the difference between dollar prices on the market and prices in a system used for collecting dollars earned on exports.
The IRR hit historic lows of around 190,000 to the dollar last September, mainly as a result of the unprecedentedly heavy sanctions imposed by the US when it withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and demanded talks to secure a tougher accord.
The Rouhani cabinet has agreed in principle to remove four zeros from the Iranian rial (IRR), making $1 equal to IRR12 instead of the current IRR120,000, Fars News Agency reported on July 31.
Since the US indicated in early 2018 that it was set to switch back to a sanctions policy aimed at Iran, the rial has lost around 70% of its value against hard currencies, causing the rial values of everyday items to skyrocket. The zeros move, which has been on the cards for more than 15 years, would make the currency more presentable and easier to handle in calculations.
"The council of ministers approved today the dropping of four zeros from the
Iran - FX
Jun-17
Sep-17
Dec-17
Mar-18
Jun-18
Sep-18
Dec-18
Mar-19
Jun-19
Currency (units per EUR) (eop)
37,057
39,666
43,273
46,522
49,268
48,754
48,011
47,165
47,754
Currency (units per USD) (eop)
32,489
33,805
36,064
37,743
42,590
42,000
41,995
42,000
42,000
Iran’s cabinet gives nod to dropping four zeros from rial and name change to toman
27 IRAN Country Report August 2019 www.intellinews.com