Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.2
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: The Central Bank of Iran decreased the U.S. dollar official exchange rate one rial today to 26,845 rials compared to the day before.
The official exchange rates of euro and pound rose 30 rials and 309 rials, respectively, to 33,465 rials and 42,229 rials, Iran 's Mehr news agency reported on Dec. 2.
Iranian government calculates the state foreign trade based on official USD rate, including oil revenues, non-oil export and imports. However, most of private traders have no choice, but to purchase expensive U.S. dollar from open markets.
Iran's economy minister Ali Tayyebnia cautioned against "frenzied behavior" on Dec. 1 after Iranians sold rials for foreign currency over the weekend amid plunging oil prices and the prospect of several more months of economic sanctions.
The rial lost 2,100 on Sunday to trade at 35,600 to the U.S. dollar, its lowest in a year, though currency trading websites showed it slightly firmer on Dec.1 at about 34,900.
During ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's second term, Iran 's rial lost its value by about four times. Each USD was sold at 9,830 rials in 2009, but the figure reached 36, 000 in mid-2013, when Ahmadinejad was replaced by Hassan Rouhani.
During last 18 months of Rouhani's presidency, the USD price in Iran 's open markets was almost stable around 31,000 to 32,000 rials, but during last week, the rial lost its value against dollar significantly.
The plunge in the rial's value against USD during the last week occurred after the P5+1 (including the U.S. , UK , France , Russia , China plus German) and Iran failed to reach a comprehensive nuclear deal on Nov.24.
These events were followed by OPEC members failing to decrease the cartel's oil output ceiling below 30 million barrels per day on Nov.27, a fact that lowered OPEC oil basket price to around $70 per barrel, $38 less than the price of mid-June.
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