Iraq News Highlights and Points To Ponder Late Saturday Evening 6-14-24
Iraqis Resort To “Gold Bullion” Instead Of Money, And The Banking System Is Dying
Economy |Today, Baghdad today – Baghdad Today, Wednesday (June 12, 2024), financial affairs expert Mustafa Hantoush revealed the reason why Iraqis are resorting to purchasing gold bullion in abundance during the current period.
Hantoush said in an interview with “Baghdad Today” that “recently, the demand for buying gold bullion has increased significantly by citizens, especially those with large sums of money. They have begun to save that money through these bullion instead of depositing their money in banks.”
He stated that “the reason why citizens resort to buying gold bullion to save their money is as a result of the weakness of the banking system, lack of confidence in this system, and fear for their money due to American sanctions. This is why we see the majority of Iraqis turning towards gold bullion, especially in light of the high prices of the yellow metal and the stability of this price and its lack of fluctuation like the dollar.”
From mid-December 2022 until now, the Iraqi dinar has continued to fall against the US dollar, until it reached the level of 1,610 dinars against one dollar at a time when the official price of the dollar is 1,300 dinars.
With the decline of the national currency and the rise in poverty and unemployment rates, Iraqi gold markets recorded a large demand from customers to buy the yellow metal amid warnings against buying counterfeit ones.
According to data from the specialized website “Bloomberg” , Iraq bought 33.9 tons of gold in the year 2022, while the Turkish Consul General in Erbil Hakan Karaçay revealed that Iraq imported Turkish gold worth $1.5 billion during the year 2021.
Iraq’s gold reserves witnessed a noticeable increase during the month of February 2024, as International Monetary Fund data showed that Iraq had increased its possession of the precious metal by 3,079 tons, bringing the total to 145,661 tons.
This increase indicates Iraq’s continued strategy to diversify its foreign reserves and enhance financial and monetary stability in the long term.
This step by Iraq comes at a time when the world is witnessing a rise in gold prices, as the price reached its highest level in its history last month above $2,400 per ounce.
Many simultaneous factors are strengthening the record levels of gold, especially in light of the escalation of geopolitical tensions around the world, and in light of the state of “uncertainty” surrounding the global economy, which supports the trend towards the precious metal as a traditional safe haven in the face of market fluctuations and dire scenarios that impose themselves on the market. the scene.
Iraq is among the countries that possess large amounts of gold reserves in the Arab region, as it ranks fourth after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Morocco. LINK
Golden Days For Sellers…The Recession Hits The “Eid Sacrifices” Market In Diyala And The Prices Are “Crazy”
Baghdad today – Diyala With the approaching Eid al-Adha, the market for selling sacrificial animals in the largest site for selling livestock and sheep in the country near the city of Baqubah is witnessing a state that resembles a depression, with a very limited demand for buying them due to the economic situation and the exaggerated rise in prices.
Ayser Khaled, a sheep and livestock trader, said in an interview with “Baghdad Today” that “prices are high according to the principle of supply and demand, and imports did not contribute to lowering prices. On the contrary, they rose by up to 10% in recent weeks,” pointing out that Eid al-Adha represents the golden days for us. To sell our sacrifices, but according to our vision of the situation, we are in a state similar to a depression.”
He acknowledged, “Prices are the reason and the matter is not in our hands. We are dealing with the market situation and we hope that there will be a decline, but according to what we see, the matter is very difficult.”
As for Jihad Abu Mustafa, a livestock and sheep trader, he pointed out that there are limited segments of people who buy sacrifices on Eid, not including the poor and those with limited income, pointing out that the prices of sheep range from 400-700 thousand dinars and reach one million dinars, which in the eyes of simple people is a large sum. .
He added in an interview with “Baghdad Today” that “importing has not changed the equation and prices are still high,” noting that “the demand for purchases does not exceed 30% so far.”
As for Ibrahim Ali Al-Qaisi, a retired government employee, he bought a sacrifice for 600,000 dinars and said, “The prices are exaggerated and retirees have to wait for months in order to collect the sacrifice amount.”
He continued in an interview with “Baghdad Today”, “We hope that the difficult economic conditions will change and that the government will address the issue of exaggerated meat prices in general because acute poverty has begun to creep into the regions.”
With the advent of Eid, Muslims buy sacrificial animals to slaughter them after the end of the Arafat pause, and then distribute their meat to relatives, neighbors, the poor and the destitute.
The health authorities in Iraq warn all citizens against buying meat sold by street vendors due to hemorrhagic fever.
The indiscriminate slaughter of livestock represents the biggest challenge facing the Ministry of Health, at a time when the number of hemorrhagic fever infections is witnessing a significant increase, with a death rate of up to 40 percent.
On days like these, merchants are accustomed to having their livestock more in demand than at other times of the year, but the exorbitant high prices prompted many people to buy sacrificial animals weeks before this occasion. LINK
The House Of Representatives Sends The Decision To Approve The Budget Schedules To The Presidency Of The Republic
Friday 14, June 2024 02:58 | Political Number of readings: 356 Baghdad / NINA / The General Secretariat of the House of Representatives announced that the decision to approve the 2024 general budget schedules had been sent to the Presidency of the Republic for approval./End 5 https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?Key=1132505
Economy Parliamentary Integrity: Extending the Basra Pipeline – An Obstacle To Wasting Iraqi Money
Information / Baghdad.. Member of the Parliamentary Integrity Committee, Hadi Al-Salami, said today, Saturday, that laying the Basra-Oqaba pipeline is a waste of Iraqi funds.
Al-Salami told Al-Maalouma Agency, “There are many comments about spending billions on extending the Basra-Aqaba pipeline, as the government’s insistence on extending the pipeline raises suspicions of corruption related to wasting public money.”
He added, “Jordan’s position on Iraq is hostile, and it is not possible to sign a memorandum of understanding or agreement with this country.”
He explained that “the extension of the oil pipeline from Basra to Aqaba has major suspicions of corruption, calling on Parliament and the regulatory authorities to stop opposing the completion of the pipeline project.” Ended / 25h LINK
Provoking Thoughts and Points To Ponder On Adversity:
Pain makes man think. Thought makes man wise. Wisdom makes life endurable. – John Patrick
Time engraves our faces with all the tears we have not shed. – Natalie Clifford Barney
Suffering raises up those souls that are truly great; it is only small souls that are made mean-spirited by it. – Alexandra David-Neel
To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering. – Roberta Flack
If you suffer, thank God! It is a sure sign that you are alive. – Elbert Hubbard
Suffering is also one of the ways of knowing you’re alive. – Jessamyn West
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