The Iranian currency fell across the board on Sunday, as stocks plummeted. The dollar advanced versus the rial, pushing the rial down against all other major currencies and gold.
The greenback rose 1.17 percent to 33,630 rials by 11:30 GMT on Sunday. Prices briefly touched a four-week high of 33,840 rials at 8:40 London time, but retreated afterwards.
The Japanese yen was the main gainer of Saturday’s trade. The Japanese currency soared 3.7 percent to 280 rials per yen.
The Swiss franc also surged versus the rial. It climbed 3.45 percent to 34,450 rials by 11:30 GMT.
The two major European currencies, the euro and the pound, also rose on Sunday, recouping Saturday’s lost ground. The euro gained 0.78 percent, braking above the 36,000 rial mark. It changed hands at 36,200 rials by 11:30 GMT on Ferdowsi Street – heart of Iran’s foreign exchange trading. Sterling climbed to 49,600 by 10:04 GMT but later declined to 49,280 rials, up 0.65 percent by 11:30 GMT.
Iran’s neighboring currencies fared better than the majors. The Emirati dirham and the Turkish lira rose 1.32 percent and 1.87 percent to 9,220 rials and 13,050 rials respectively. The dirham is at a four-week peak against the rial.
The lira and the dirham are gauges of bazaar activities as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are gateways for importing consumer goods into Iran.
The Azadi gold coin – the benchmark for gold trading in Iran – also rose on Saturday. The bullion coin was up 0.88 percent to 9,795,000 rials by 11:30 GMT.
A strong dollar makes dollar-denominated gold more expensive for buyers in other currencies. Conversely equities plummeted for the second day on Sunday, as investors fled from stocks. The Tedpix, Tehran Stock Exchange’s main index, dipped 1.77 percent to 68,783.90 points, with banking and petrochemical shares being hit hardest.
The Tedpix, which rose 7.5 percent to a 4-month high last week, has been trimming gains this week. Equities rose last week as Iran and the P5+1 – Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and the United States – reached a framework agreement ensuring the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear energy program, paving the way for the lifting of economic sanctions imposed on Iran.
