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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran grapples with currency market turmoil |
| 2012-01-05 |
| TEHRAN: Iran's currency market was in turmoil on Wednesday as the central bank imposed draconian measures to try to shore up its beleaguered rial in the face of existing and looming Western sanctions. The bank was imposing a fixed low rate of 14,000 rials to the dollar on the open market, traders said. Some had shuttered their shops in the centre of Tehran, refusing to make transactions at that artificial level. The central bank also halved the amount of dollars Iranians flying abroad could buy at a slightly lower preferential rate, to $1,000 instead of the $2,000 previously allowed, according to an official statement relayed by media. If all wars are essentially economic conflicts, this is bad news for Iran. Bill Casey would be proud... The measures were applied after the rial lost 12 per cent on Monday, days after the United States enacted new sanctions against Iran's central bank. The European Union is expected to follow up with its own economic sanctions on Iran at the end of this month. France, Britain and Germany are calling for an EU embargo on Iranian oil imports to be adopted. |
| Posted by:phil_b |