US dollar dips to 168,500 IQD following Zaidi’s remarks on cash inflows

Packs of US dollars and Iraqi dinars. Photo: Pukmedia Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the Iraqi dinar retreated by approximately 1,000 dinars per $100 across parallel market trading desks on Saturday, October 24, 2026. The softening followed public statements delivered on Friday by Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi, in which he disclosed that Washington will dispatch $1 billion in physical cash shipments to Iraq and assured the public that parallel rates will soon decline toward 155,000 dinars per $100. The remarks stemmed upward momentum that had pushed dollar transactions across domestic exchange bureaus to 169,500 dinars on Thursday and Friday, driving the prevailing market benchmark down to 168,500 dinars. Across major trading hubs in Baghdad, Erbil, and Basra, foreign exchange desks and licensed counters posted identical rates on Saturday morning, listing cash selling quotes at 169,000 dinars against buying bids of 168,500 dinars per $100. Despite the temporary retreat, parallel figures continue to maintain a notable spread over the Central Bank of Iraq’s official statutory cash peg, which remains set at 152,000 dinars per $100. The divergence highlights persistent liquidity dynamics and demand pressures outside central electronic settlement channels, even as executive assurances of incoming dollar consignments aim to stabilize market sentiment and curb speculative price premiums.