Tishwash: Economist: Markets will face a recession during Eid due to weak purchasing power
Economic expert Salah Nouri predicted that market activity would be limited as Eid al-Fitr approaches, explaining that this is linked to the scale of citizen demand, which directly depends on purchasing power.
Nouri explained in an interview with Al Furat News Agency that “most citizens are low-income, low-level employees, and covered by social welfare, which affects the level of spending in the markets.”
He also predicted that “the dollar exchange rate will decline on the parallel market in the coming period, due to low demand for purchases.”
Local markets are experiencing an economic slowdown as the Eid season approaches, with economic experts pointing to the possibility of a recession due to weak consumer purchasing power.
This decline is attributed to several factors, most notably the rising cost of living and declining real income, which has negatively impacted buying and selling activity. link
Tishwash: Government Advisor: We Have a Large Financial Surplus Enough for Iraq to Cover Two Years of Imports
Mohammed Al-Najjar, the Prime Minister’s Advisor for Investment Affairs, confirmed that the Central Bank has a large financial surplus sufficient for Iraq to cover two years of imports.
Al-Najjar said in the program “Under Two Lines,” broadcast on Al-Iraqiya News, followed by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that “the US administration is dealing positively with Iraq, contrary to what is being circulated in the media,” noting that “there is a moderate discourse from the United States because the energy market cannot bear it.”
He added, “The Central Bank has a large financial surplus sufficient for Iraq to cover two years of imports,” stressing that “there are mechanisms that the Central Bank is working with the US Federal Reserve to structure.”
He pointed out that “the government is currently implementing the banking reforms agreed upon between Washington and Baghdad,” explaining that “everyone is trying to protect Iraq because it is not in their interest for Iraq to be exposed to any crisis.”
He continued, “The cost of reconstruction and bridges in the country does not exceed 12 trillion dinars.”link
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Tishwash: MP Ali Shaddad sets the expected date for the budget tables to reach the House of Representatives and confirms that disagreements still exist.
Member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, Ali Shaddad, said on Friday that amending Article (12) of the Budget Law for the three years (2023, 2024, 2025) is the reason for the delay in the current year’s budget schedules reaching the Council of Representatives.
Shaddad expected the amendment of this controversial article between Baghdad and Erbil to be completed, and for the schedules to reach the Council of Representatives for discussion by the end of this March.
He pointed out that Article (12) of the Budget Law, which is being amended by the Council of Ministers, relates to the costs of producing the region’s oil.
Shaddad explained to Noon News Agency that Article (12) indicated that the cost of producing and transporting one barrel of crude oil in the region amounts to $6, while the regional government believes that this amount is much less than the actual costs, due to the mountainous nature of the northern oil sites.
He pointed out that the region is also demanding an increase in its share of local fuel consumption, indicating that the central government and the Ministry of Oil do not have the authority to make this increase without referring to the Council of Representatives.
Shaddad hinted at internal and external pressures being exerted to expedite a final agreement to pass the budget and resume the region’s oil exports via the Turkish port of Ceyhan. link
