British pound, euro prices rise at Iran's forex center

Azerbaijan, Baku, Mar.30/ Trend F.Milad‎‏

British pound was sold at 37,394 rials at Iran's forex center on Saturday.

US dollar was also presented at 24,589 rials, while euro was traded at 31,524 rials, the TASNIM News Agency reported.

Euro, British pound and US dollar were sold at the prices of 31,420, 37,216 , and 24,590 rials, respectively on Thursday.

The new foreign exchange center was officially inaugurated on Sept.24. Some 21,013 applications worth $7.5 billion have been registered at the center until Feb.28.

The new center allows importers of goods including truck tires, construction equipment and synthetic fibers to buy dollars at a rate 2 percent cheaper than the street rate at any given time.

According to the center's spokesman Samad Karimi, Iran's forex center has the capacity to trade over $100 million each working day.

The government maintains an official reference rate of 12,260 rials to the dollar, but only a limited amount of foreign exchange is available at this rate.

Iranian government plans to use revenues from petrochemical sales and 14.5 percent of its oil revenues to provide dollars for the center, central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani said in September, 2012. He did not give an absolute figure for the amount of dollars to be supplied.

"With the distribution of currency in this center, the exchange rate in the market will go down, because some of the demand (for dollars) will be met in this center and the pressure of demand will be removed," Bahmani was quoted as saying.