Iran’s Central Bank (CBI) has announced a new official exchange rate for the US dollar. In a statement, the CBI revealed that the average price for purchasing the US dollar in its newly established Currency Market of Mutually-Agreed Prices was 596,470 rials at the close of trading on Saturday.
The CBI also reported that exporters had provided around $39.5 million of their earnings, out of a total of $70 million, to importers at this new exchange rate, according to Press TV.
This new price will serve as the benchmark for the starting price of the following day’s trade in the same market, effectively setting the tone for official currency rates in Iran in the coming days.
This move follows the CBI’s announcement in early November about launching a new currency market, designed to allow exporters and importers to directly negotiate and agree on prices, replacing the previous NIMA market.
Currently, the CBI uses a rate of 285,000 rials per US dollar for imports of essential goods, including medicine. However, it had been using NIMA prices for currency allocations to other importers. The NIMA price stood at over 500,000 rials per US dollar just before the introduction of the new market on November 6.
Meanwhile, the market price of the US dollar in Tehran surpassed 750,000 rials on Saturday.
