Stock market performance was disappointing in the first trading week of the new Persian year (started March 21) while currency and bullion market posted gains.
The US dollar was traded below 250,000 rials before the currency market closed for the Nowrouz holidays. The greenback surged above the psychological level in the first business week to close at 256,500 rials on Wednesday.
Along with other major currencies, the dollar advanced throughout the week gaining 2.8% or 8,000 rials in the free market.
The greenback was worth 250,000 rials in the regulated foreign exchange market operated by exchange bureaus dealing in wholesale currency trade.
Responding to the upsurge in currency prices in the annual two-week holiday season, the CBI's public relations department blamed currency speculators "trying to sell at higher rates when markets are officially closed".
In a Twitter post on Monday, the regulator warned that it will "react appropriately" to the rising rates, arguing that the hike was not reasonable as "forex hawala demand was down" in the secondary forex market, known as Nima.
Nima is a trade platform where exporters sell their forex earnings to importers. The dollar was worth around 226,000 rials at Nima on Wednesday.
Reacting to the CBI warning, the USD in the open market dropped slightly on Wednesday after rising to 258,000 rials a session earlier.
Impacted by forex market trends, gold prices in Tehran rose despite the downward trend in international markets.
The Emami gold coin jumped from 107 million rials in the last day of previous fiscal year (March 19) to 111.3 million rials on Wednesday posting 3.8% gain.
Gold gained in world markets on Thursday from a three-week low in the previous session, as the dollar and US Treasury yields eased, while US President Joe Biden's $2 trillion-plus jobs plan further supported the metal's appeal as a hedge against inflation, Reuters reported.
Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,717.60 per ounce after touching its lowest since March 8 at $1,677.61 on Wednesday.
TEDPIX Posts Weekly Decline
Except for one initial rally last Saturday, marking the first trading day of the new calendar year, Tehran's share market performed poorly in the ensuing days.
The main index of Tehran Stock Exchange, TEDPIX, lost 13,164 points during the week to decline 1%, standing at 1,303,103 points, Eghtesad News reported.
Unlike TEDPIX, which is largely impacted by large cap stocks, the equal-weighted TSE's index closed the week 0.65% higher amid upbeat sentiment in penny stocks. Average daily trade value plunged by half compared to the earlier week reaching 162.2 trillion rials ($640 million).
