In February, the US dollar price surged more than 11 percent in Iran, reaching over 500,000 rials, according to Iranian media reports. Despite the Central Bank’s efforts to stabilize the currency price, currency traders have said this model of devaluation is unprecedented, with inflation trends guiding the market.
Experts and traders have linked the surge in the price of gold coins and gold to the “strange and scary” upward trend of the dollar price. Market analysts believe that the new package of EU sanctions against Iran’s regime has disturbed the market and put traders in a buying position. On February 20, the European Union added the remaining Iranian banks to its sanctions list, which may cause the continuation of the rise of gold coins and currencies.
Since Mohammad Reza Farzin became the head of the Central Bank, analysts say the bank has tried hard to keep the price at the bottom of the 40,000-rial range. However, the dollar cost has risen regardless of the rhetoric therapy and does not follow force and orders. While the regime will continue to claim that the continued depreciation of the rial is caused by foreign powers and sanctions, government-owned and -backed institutions will continue to benefit from the fluctuations in the price of the rial.
The people of Iran, who have been suffering from the deteriorating economic conditions caused by the regime’s policies, will feel the brunt of the effects caused by the further devaluation of the rial.
Higher prices and inflation will directly impact the lives of millions of people. And given that the regime is benefiting from increased imports at the cost of deteriorating domestic production, the price of many staples and essential goods is directly affected by the price of the dollar.
The price of coins reached 290 million rials on February 19, and the dollar cost influenced the coin market’s fluctuation. Hojjat Shafaei, head of the gold and jewelry producers’ union, complained about the minting of various coins by the Central Bank in recent years. He criticized that the high supply of coins causes people to invest instead of buying gold artefacts.
According to the head of the Tehran Jewelry Association, Nader Bazrafshan, around 1,300-coin dealers are in Tehran, which is significant across Iran. The head of the jewelry producers’ union believes that many of the price fluctuations Iran is experiencing today come back to the currency market.
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