DUBAI (Reuters) – The Iranian currency extended its decline on Saturday, hitting a new record low against the U.S. dollar amid uncertainties over Donald Trump's imminent arrival to the White House and tensions with the West over Tehran's nuclear program.
The rial plummeted to 756,000 per dollar in the unofficial market on Saturday, compared with 741,500 rials on Friday, according to Bonbast.com, which reports on exchange rates. The website bazaar360.com said the dollar was selling for about 755,000 rials.
Faced with an official inflation rate of around 35%, Iranians seeking a safe haven for their savings have been buying dollars, other hard currencies, gold or cryptocurrencies, suggesting further headwinds for the rial.
The dollar has been gaining against the rial since trading around 690,000 rials in early November amid concerns that once he takes office in January, Trump would reimpose his “maximum pressure” policy against Iran with tougher sanctions. and would empower Israel to attack Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran's currency fell again after the board of governors of the UN nuclear agency, IAEA, approved a resolution proposed by Europe against Tehran – increasing the risk of new sanctions – and after the fall of Syria's president , Bashar al Assad, a former ally of the Islamic party. Republic.
<img src="https://technicalterrence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Iranian-currency-falls-to-new-lows-amid-tensions-between-the.jpg" title="© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A currency trader poses for a photo with a US one-dollar bill and the amount given when converting it into Iranian rials at an exchange shop in Tehran, Iran, December 25, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/ WANA (West Asian News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo” alt=”© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A currency trader poses for a photo with a US one-dollar bill and the amount given when converting it into Iranian rials at an exchange shop in Tehran, Iran, December 25, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/ WANA (West Asian News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo” rel=”external-image”/>
In 2018, Trump reneged on a nuclear deal reached by his predecessor Barack Obama in 2015 and reimposed US economic sanctions on Iran that had been relaxed. The deal had limited Iran's ability to enrich uranium, a process that can produce fissile material for nuclear weapons.
The Iranian rial has lost more than 90% of its value since sanctions were reimposed in 2018.
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