1. Introduction [1] The purpose of this note is to shed light, and comment, on two views expressed recently in relation to the appreciation of the Iraq Dinar (IQD) in 2006-2008. Muhammad Tawfiq Alawi (henceforth M. Alawi), former minister of communications in Iraq, gave a talk on December 13, 2019 in Washington D.C. to an Iraqi audience, in which he
Read MoreFor the full paper, including 2 appendices, click PDF file. Introduction Misconduct charges against the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) and banking system, before and after the replacement of the Governor in October 2012, have included two groups. The first relates to possible ‘misuse’ of CBI’s foreign exchange auction sales by banks, favouritism in allocating sales, and money lau
Read MoreDownload whole text as PDF file I. Inflationary trends: 2003-2009 Since 2003 domestic fuel price changes have played important role in accelerating and then dampening inflation in Iraq; from a prime pusher upward in 2002-2007 (acute shortages of fuel), to the prime puller downward, in 2008/2009 (easing of shortages). Before analyzing the role of fuel, however, let us first look
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