Lawmaker says the dinar depreciation erodes employees' purchasing power.. "under the prime minister's eyes"

Lawmaker says the dinar depreciation erodes employees' purchasing power.. "under the prime minister's eyes"
2023-01-10T14:47:02+00:00

Shafaq News/ The depreciation of the Iraqi dinar has taken a toll on the public servants and daily wagers, lawmaker Mustafa Jabbar Sanad said on Tuesday, lambasting the government and the central bank impotence as the Iraqi dinar hits rock bottom.

Baghdad's al-Harithiya and al-Kifah central exchanges are trading the US dollar at a rate of 162,000 Iraqi dinars to 100, our correspondent said on Monday. However, the exchange rate decreased today to 160,300 Iraqi dinars to 100 US dollars on Tuesday. It remains, however, a far stretch from 1,460 Iraqi dinars; the rate that has been pegged to the US dollar since December 2020.

Sanad said that the current depreciation has increased the price of imported products by 10% in comparison to 2021.

"When compared to 2019, the inflation rate of the products charged in dollars by the importers is 32% higher," he said in a statement.

"Inflation is the rate of increase in prices over a given period of time. It means that the employee has unknowingly lost 32% of his salary," he explained, "workers and daily wagers will also endure the same damage due to stagnation. Investors and contractors will be hesitant about the cost-efficiency of any investment."

"All of this is happening under the eyes of the political leaders, the prime minister, and the central bank's governor," he concluded.

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