The dollar rose in Tehran on Monday as equities fell to a two-week low.
The greenback gained 0.45 percent and changed hands at 33,390 rials by 11:33 GMT in Ferdowsi Street – heart of foreign exchange in Tehran.
The dollar rose after three consecutive days of decline trailing international markets. The US currency suffered a near two percent drop in forex markets last week as underwhelming US data prompted the market to trim long positions.
“The [foreign exchange] market is normal. Supply and demand is governing the dollar, the bourse – Tehran Stock Exchange, is a different story. It has fundamental problems,” a veteran investor told the Financial Tribune.
Sterling also rose against the rial, but its gains were limited due to low demand in Iran, despite its advances against the dollar in forex markets. The British currency edged higher 0.12 to 49,940 rials by 11:33 GMT. Sterling is nearing will hit a four-week high if it breaks above the key 50,000 rial level.
The euro, however, slipped 0.11 percent to 36,120 in Ferdowsi Street as it was weighed down by concerns over Greece’s struggle to agree terms with creditors. The euro slipped 0.58 percent to $1.0743, weighed down by investors’ worries over Greece, as Athens continues to seek a deal with its creditors on reforms to unlock aid.
Benchmark gold coin, the Azadi, saw a correction after two days of gains in a row. Azadi fell 0.36 percent to 9,670,000 rials on Monday, diverging from gold which had minor gains in the international markets.
Gold was little changed above $1,200 an ounce on Monday with a softer dollar providing support for the safe-haven metal, but a lack of robust physical demand and uncertainty over the timing of a US interest rate hike kept investors on edge. Spot gold crawled up 0.07 percent at $1,204.00 an ounce by 11:33 GMT, after gaining 0.6 percent on Friday.
Meanwhile, wary investors sold their blue chip shares on Monday in the Tehran Stock Exchange, dragging its main index 0.54 percent lower to a four-week low of 67,016.70 points.
Iran’s over-the-counter market, the Iran Farabourse, was hit even harder. The IFX nearly sank in early trade and spent the rest of the day mounting losses closing nearly one percent lower at 750.05 points, as four major petrochemical producers weighed on the index.
