US Dollar Close to All-Time High

The US dollar rose close to its highest registered value against the rial on Monday, as the Iranian currency also lost against a slew of other major currencies.

According to Tehran Gold and Jewelry Union’s website, the rial was quoted at 41,360 to the dollar in Tehran’s open currency market, up by 340 rials compared to Sunday’s close.

The highest value of the American currency against rial was reported in late December 2016 at 41,500, in a sign of concern about the country’s ability to attract foreign money after US president-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The approaching new Christian year and excessive demand for travel currency are usually the main reasons behind the bull run of foreign currencies in Iran around this time of the year.

This is while on Monday, the official USD rate also witnessed a growth of 59 rials as the Central Bank of Iran, which is responsible for setting the official rates of foreign currencies, puts its value at 35,249 rials. This is the highest official rate set by CBI for the greenback.

Rial also significantly lost against other major currencies, as its value against euro has dropped to its five-year low. The European currency changed hands for 48,630 rials in Tehran’s open forex market on Monday to mark an increase of 330 rials compared to the previous day’s rate.

Other widely traded foreign currencies in Iranian markets such as Emirati dirham and Turkish lira also gained 90 rials and 70 rials against the rial on Monday and traded for 11,310 rials and 10,930 rials, respectively.

  Gold Market

Simultaneously, the prices of all kinds of gold coin have also registered significant gains.

After significant leaps in recent days, Bahar Azadi gold coin fetched 13.05 million rials ($316.4) on Monday, up by 40,000 rials or 0.31% compared to Sunday’s close. This is the all-time highest value of the benchmark coin in Tehran’s market. Emami gold coin changed hands at 13.85 million rials ($335.8) on Monday–a whopping increase of 113,000 rials compared with Sunday’s close. Half Azadi and Quarter Azadi experienced an increase of 70,000 rials and 50,000 rials and sold for 6.9 million rials ($167.5) and 3.9 million rials ($94.8), respectively.