USD at 100-Day Low Against the Rial

The rial was quoted at 37,240 to the US dollar on Wednesday, gaining 0.59% against the greenback compared with Tuesday's close.

According to Tehran Gold and Jewelry Union's website, Wednesday marked the sixth day of consecutive gain for the Iranian currency against the US dollar, reaching its highest value against greenback since November 24, 2016.

Experts believe a number of factors are behind the rial rally, including the drop in Emirati dirham's value that affects the USD rate in Iran's market.

The Emirati dirham was exchanged at 10,270 rials on Wednesday to continue its downward trend, marking a drop of 0.77% compared with Tuesday.

Another reason for the drop of USD exchange rate against rial was the injection of USD into the domestic market by commercial companies to meet their expenses at the end of the fiscal year.

Currency speculators' actions, combined with the above-mentioned reasons, joined forces to knock down the US dollar's value in Tehran market.

This is while the average exchange rate of dollar was reportedly 37,328 rials on Wednesday, according to the Central Bank of Iran's SANA rate system.

The official rate of dollar, however, stayed unchanged at 32,416 to continue its steady trend for the last three months.

The descending trend of US dollar's exchange rate could forestall the probable shock that happens at the end of the fiscal year since the demand for hard currency sharply rises in the days leading to March 20 when the Iranian year comes to a close and Norouz holidays begin.

Rial gained against most foreign currencies on Wednesday. Euro and British pound changed hands for 40,010 and 46,870 rials on Wednesday, down by 290 rials and 130 rials, respectively.

However, Turkish lira remained stable for the day after its continuous loss against rial. The currency has been freefalling since two months ago from 12,000 rials on December 28, 2016, to March 7, 2017, marking a considerable drop of 11.5%.

Bahar Azadi gold coin sold for 11.80 million rials, down by 200,000 rials or 1.65% compared with Tuesday’s close.

The Iranian foreign exchange market underwent massive fluctuations in the past few months, which saw the rial weaken to 41,500 rials to the dollar in late December.

The Central Bank of Iran has been trying to close the gap between official and unofficial foreign exchange rates to reach a unified forex rate in the next fiscal year (starting March 21).

source: Financial Tribune