Greenback Loses Momentum

After surging against the rial in early trade, the greenback lost momentum on Monday in what would be a win for the Central Bank of Iran’s policy of preventing the further depreciation of rial. While the rial remained above the psychological threshold of 45,600 by midday, it later gained some ground and was quoted at 45,570 against the American currency, according to Tehran Gold and Jewelry Union’s website. In recent weeks, the volatility in foreign exchange market triggered concerns among businesspeople and made the public anxious about the weakening rial as it raises the risk of further price hikes. As the fallout grew, President Hassan Rouhani pledged to calm the market. The gold coin also dropped on Monday with Bahar Azadi gold coin losing 125,000 rials and fetched 14.76 million rials ($323). The benchmark coin had been rallying for months, but the news of a Feb. 4 presale by CBI dampened its bull run.