Iraq’s currency markets fall silent as election holiday suspends trade

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Foreign exchange activity in Iraq ground to a halt on Tuesday as most currency offices in Baghdad, Erbil, and other provinces closed for the parliamentary election holiday, bringing dollar trading to its quietest level in months.

Major exchange outlets and transfer firms remained shut since early morning in compliance with the nationwide holiday. Only sporadic individual transactions took place in residential areas, mostly involving small cash exchanges between traders and residents.

Market sources described the day as “effectively frozen,” with no official price movement due to the suspension of trading.

On Monday evening—the final active session before the closure—the US dollar settled in Baghdad at 142,750 dinars for selling and 140,750 for buying per $100. In Erbil, slight upward pressure kept the rate at 141,350 dinars for selling and 141,250 for buying.

The Iraqi government declared Tuesday a nationwide public holiday as citizens cast their votes in the sixth parliamentary elections since 2005.