Azerbaijan, Baku, May.7/ Trend R.Zamanov
Each Bahar-e Azadi gold coin was sold at a price of 13.10 million rials at Iran's free market on Tuesday. The coin was presented at a price of 13.20 on Monday.
The Bahar-e Azadi Coin is an Iranian limited circulation minted gold coin offered by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).
The US dollar was also sold at the price of 35,600 rials on the free market on Tuesday, while the euro was presented at a price of 46,900 rials. Both currencies were traded at the prices of 35,800, and 47,100 rials on Monday.
Iran's national currency, the rial, lost about 50 per cent of its foreign exchange value in less than a week in October 2012, hitting an all-time low of 35,500 versus the dollar. It was close to 10,000 in early 2011.
The government has set a 28,500 rials price for the free market, but brokers refuse to trade the dollar at that price.
Critics believe the Iranian government is not controlling the price of dollar on the free market on purpose. They claim the government wants to take advantage of selling the dollar on the free market to compensate its lack of budget.
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.