Gold price ups at Iran's free market
Each Azadi gold coin was sold at the price of 12.77 million rials at the free market in Iran on Sunday, Trend news agency reported.
The price of gold coin stood at 12.73 million rials at Iran's
free market on Wednesday. There was no trade at the free market in
the past three days over the air pollution in Tehran.
Euro was sold at 42,800 rials at Iran's free market on Sunday,
while US dollar was presented at 32,450 rials.
US dollar and euro were traded at the prices of 32,500 and 43,310,
respectively on Wednesday.
The government has set the 28,500 rials price for the free market
but the brokers still refuse to trade dollar at the mentioned
price.
Dollar price had reached 40,000 rials in October but by
inauguration of the foreign exchange center the prices fell to
27,000 rials.
Critics believe that Iranian government is not controlling the
price of dollar at the free market on purpose. They claim that the
government wants to take advantage of selling dollar at the free
market in order to compensate its lack of budget.
The new foreign exchange center was officially inaugurated on
September 24. About 10,175 applications have been registered at the
center so far.
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.
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. 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.