Iran’s rial currency sank to a record low against the U.S. dollar on Saturday despite the country’s central bank passing measures aimed at cooling demand for foreign currency from savers worried about inflation and the country’s economic prospects.
But with stalled nuclear talks with global powers and mounting sanctions, Iran’s economic future has many Iranians worried.
The rial was trading at 575,000 on the unofficial free market against the dollar, compared to 540,000 on Friday, according to foreign exchange site Bonbast.com. The website bazar360.com also gave the rate as 575,000. As of Sunday, the rial was 600,000 to one dollar, meaning it had lost some 20 percent of its value in six days – the fastest in the past two years.
Last week, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei acknowledged Iran is facing many shortcomings such as “high prices, inflation and the depreciation of the national currency.”
With annual inflation running at more than 50 percent, Iranians have been trying to protect the value of their savings by buying foreign currency or gold.
Seeking to cool the market and ease demand for dollars, the central bank on Saturday lifted a ban on private exchange shops selling hard currencies. Last week, it opened an exchange center to allow ordinary Iranians to purchase foreign currency, but some market analysts said the move had yet to dampen appetite for greenbacks.
