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Major currencies decline at Iran’s free market

Business Materials 17 May 2013 14:42 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, May.17/ Trend F.Karimov/

U.S. dollar, Euro, and British pound prices declined on Thursday against Iranian rial at Iran's free market.

U.S. dollar was priced at 35,150 rials, compared with 35,200 rials on Wednesday.

Euro was priced at 45,900 rials, compared with 46,300 rials on Wednesday.

And, British pound was sold at 54,400 rials, compared with 54,600 rials on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Tehran Forex center was officially inaugurated on September 24, 2012. It allows importers of goods to buy dollars at a rate 2 percent cheaper than the street rate at any given time.

But, 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.

"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.

The U.S. and EU have placed restrictions on dealings with Iran's Central Bank - the only official channel for Iranians to transfer money abroad - and Swift, the body that handles global banking transactions, has cut Iran's banks out of its system.

The government said in July that it had $150 billion in foreign currency reserves to help cushion the blow of the sanctions.

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