DUBAI, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Iran's rial currency sank to a
record low against the U.S. dollar on Saturday despite central
bank measures aimed at cooling demand for foreign currency from
savers worried about inflation and the country's economic
prospects.
The rial was trading at 575,000 on the unofficial free
market against the dollar, compared to 540,000 on Friday,
according to foreign exchange site Bonbast.com. The website
bazar360.com also gave the rate as 575,000.
With annual inflation running at more than 50%, Iranians
have been trying to protect the value of their savings by buying
foreign currency or gold.
Seeking to cool the market and ease demand for dollars, the
central bank on Saturday lifted a ban on private exchange shops
selling hard currencies.
Last week, it opened an exchange centre to allow ordinary
Iranians to purchase foreign currency, but some market analysts
said the move had yet to dampen appetite for greenbacks.
"While some analysts expected that, with the opening of
this centre, emotional trading on the free market would
decrease, the dollar continued its upward movement ... and the
fervour has become even more intense on the futures market,"
economic website Ecoiran said.
The rial has lost nearly 45% of its value since
nationwide protests following the death in police custody of a
young Kurdish Iranian woman began in September.
The unrest has posed one of the biggest challenges to
theocratic rule in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Foreign exchange traders say the rial's depreciation stems
partly from the unrest and Iran's increased isolation in the
face of Western sanctions over its human rights record and
Russia's use of Iranian-made drones in Ukraine.
The reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018 by then President
Donald Trump have harmed Iran's economy by limiting Tehran's oil
exports and access to foreign currency.
Since September, nuclear talks between Iran and world powers
to curb Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting
of sanctions have stalled, worsening economic expectations for
Iran's future.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom
Editing by Helen Popper)
