Iraq's foreign reserves lose $ 21 billion in three years

Iraq's foreign reserves lose $ 21 billion in three years

First Published: 2017-01-30

Keywords says that the Iraqi Central Bank reserves amounted to nearly $ 45 billion in 2016 because of the debilitating finance the budget and the costs of the war on terrorism deficit.



Cross the most difficult years

BAGHDAD - Iraq declining reserves of hard currency around $ 21 billion over the last three years, due to the debilitating finance the budget deficit due to declining oil prices, a leading supplier in the country and the requirements of declared war against the organization of the Islamic state.

And Governor of the Central Bank on the Keywords announced before the Iraqi parliament lower bank reserves during the past three years, about $ 21 billion.

Keywords and said that "the Central Bank's reserves were reported at the end of 2014, more than $ 66 billion in 2015 and dropped to about $ 53 billion and in 2016 came to nearly $ 45 billion and a book value of $ 48 billion."

And the Iraqi governor that "the central bank resorted to the method of general budget support through the purchase of treasury transfers and collided with the financial situation not great funding in case the central bank refrain from buying treasury transfers, it will lead to significant repercussions on the general situation in Iraq, stressing that the bank contributed to cross the most difficult years that have passed during the years 2015 and 2016, especially that the contribution amounted to 20 trillion dinars, which does not violate the law, "

He pointed out that "the talks with the International Monetary Fund showed that there is a problem in the reserve until the year 2021".

The Governor of the Central Bank had announced in October that the country's foreign exchange reserves fell to $ 50 billion at the rate of decline of nine billion dollars in light of the face of a budget deficit because of falling oil revenues.

And it reached the foreign exchange reserves of Iraq's $ 59 billion at the end of October / October 2015, according to a memorandum of government directed the International Monetary Fund in January.

Iraq has the founding member of the Organization of "OPEC" about 142 billion barrels of reserves Proven oil accounts for more than 9 percent of the total global crude reserves, with total production of about 4.5 million barrels per day, most of the needs of hard currency availability him.

Experts have warned previously from entering Iraq at risk, with the continuation of the withdrawal of the Iraqi government from the central bank reserves to cope with the worsening budget deficit, with the decline in global oil prices and consumption of the country, about a third of the budget on a monthly salary, and another one-third of the department in the country's war for years.

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