Iraqi Central Banker Sees Limited Risk of Devaluation Amid War
- Central bank wants to maintain ``perfect'' rate of inflation
- Central bank may consider ``marginal'' devaluation of dinar
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Central bank Governor Ali Mohsen Ismail said Iraq has enough foreign reserves to maintain its currency peg but didn’t rule out a minor devaluation to shore up government revenue hurt by the slump in oil prices and the war on Islamic State militants.
are enough to cover more than six months of imports, higher than what is typically needed to maintain the exchange-rate, Ismail said in an interview in Cairo on Sunday. This year’s budget deficit will likely be lower than the 25.4 trillion dinars ($20.9 billion) originally planned because the finance ministry is already cutting spending, he said.