Iran Rial Sinks On Sanctions, Down 80% In Past Year

The Iranian rial was in freefall again Tuesday, with a wide variety of rates being quoted on the beleaguered currency adding to the confusion.

After falling to record lows of around 33,500 rials USDIRR -0.0081% to the dollar on informal currency bazaars and exchanges Monday, the selling pressure appeared to continue unabated Tuesday, with the currency battered by international sanctions and domestic turmoil.

Bankers and investors have reported Tuesday Iranian rial rates ranging from IRR32,000 to IRR40,000 to the dollar.

One Tehran-based businessman, who didn’t wish to be named, was quoted around IRR37,500 to the dollar.

Most real-time currency tracking websites appeared to have suspended dollar trades Tuesday but were still quoting the rial against the euro, with one euro equal to IRR47,100 compared to IRR34,000 for one euro late Sunday, according to Mazanex.com.

The official rate–available in limited amounts for students and tourists traveling abroad–has been IRR12,260 per dollar for several years.

That was sharply lower than the 34,700 to 34,800 it reached at the end of trading on Monday. Compared to a year ago, the rial has lost more than 80% of its value.

According to a real-time currency tracking website www.livedata.ir , the rial was just over 2% weaker at 35,500 to the dollar.

But traders in Tehran’s money-changing district said they were selling one dollar for 37,000 rials — a 6% decline over Monday’s close.

Datalive.ir, a website that tracks the rial’s rate, said the Iranian currency had weakened by 3.5%.

Specialized websites that normally track the rial’s exchange rate in real time did not update from Monday’s rate.

Almost all of Iran’s main media outlets made no mention of Monday’s startling slide or Tuesday’s continued plunge.

The Mehr news agency, which had been tracking the currency’s fall, reported before trading opened on Tuesday that the rial stood around 35,000 to the dollar, but did not update that figure.

Market Watch News