Iranian rial hits new low as central bank sells dollars to support currency
SPY•Iran’s central bank announced an injection of up to $2 billion to support the rial, which fell to around 2.688 million per dollar on Saturday from 2.632 million on Friday. The currency has lost more than half its value in the past year.
1. Dollar sales announced
Iran’s central bank announced an injection of up to $2 billion to support the rial. State television said state banks had begun selling dollars.
2. Rial continues to fall
The dollar traded around 2.688 million rials on Saturday, compared with 2.632 million on Friday; another free-market tracking website reported 2.695 million. Inflation is above 70%, and the article says a US blockade is cutting oil exports, a financial lifeline for the state.
3. Savings and official response
Many Iranians have been buying dollars, other hard currencies or gold to protect their savings. A central bank governor’s aide said the decline was partly linked to what he called false predictions by US officials about an economic collapse, and described the rial’s current fall as temporary.
