Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Sept. 25, 2018 – The U.S. dollar price skyrocketed in Tehran’s markets on Monday, soaring over 160,000 rials. The euro was selling between 175,000 to 189,000 rials. The British pound had increased to over 210,000 rials.
The state-run ISNA news agency described these escalating statistics as “strange” and added, “Today, trading for the U.S. dollar began at around 149,000 to 150,000 rials and even reached the 155,000 rial mark.”
These statistics were registered in authorized currency exchanges. In Tehran’s black market, however, the prices reached over 160,000 rials.
In February, the U.S. dollar was trading at 38,500 rials, increasing to 53,400 rials in less than a month and reaching 67,530 rials in June and even higher in July.
In August, these numbers reached 120,000 rials per U.S. dollar and the average of September was floating between 145,000 to 150,000 rials. The Iranian regime even announced a new currency policy, only to fail in providing any significant impact.
Currency rates are known to directly reflect a country’s political/economic stability. Despite the fact that many regime officials and so-called experts had promised the price of essential goods would not increase, corruption has reached a point that the regime has no solutions.
Many involved in the country’s main edible goods market believe the currency policy adopted by the regime has actually increased the currency instability.
Under this new policy, 25 goods are considered essential items that can be purchased from abroad with the regime providing U.S. dollars at a rate of 42,000 rials. This includes rice, wheat, red meat, poultry, eggs, edible oils, corn, and others such items. Some of these items are being stocked by the individuals linked to regime officials to then launch a monopoly in the market.
“Allocating U.S. dollars at 42,000 rials for importing foodstuffs was a grave mistake by the government. Doing so results in corruption of all kinds across the country,” said Ghasem-Ali Hassani, Secretary-General of the Food Stockers Association.
A civilian told “Jahan-e San’at” daily on September 6th, “I earn around 22 million rials a month. With a mortgage of 9 million and two children, how can I buy 1 kilogram of rice for 100,000 rials, red meat at 600,000 rials and fruits at least 80,000 rials for each kilogram?”
Analyzing the increasing price of essential goods, the state-run ILNA news agency reported on September 11th reported, “In September, an average worker’s family must spend 72% of their earning to simply remain alive. At the end of the day, this family has less than 4 million rials to provide for their essential necessities, such as mortgage, transportation, and education. But how?”
