Dollar and Euro Prices Rise in Iran's Free Market; Gold Coin Exceeds Two Million Tomans

The prices of various foreign currencies in Iran's free market continue to rise despite government directives and police pressure, with the price of each US dollar reaching six thousand three hundred tomans on Saturday, May 15. The Iranian Labor News Agency, ILNA, reported from Ferdowsi Square in Tehran, where currency traders and brokers are present, that brokers are exchanging dollars at six thousand three hundred tomans and euros at seven thousand five hundred tomans, although there is not much demand for these two foreign currencies in the free market. The Iranian government recently issued a directive setting the price of the US dollar at four thousand two hundred tomans, but in practice, dollars at this price are not available in the market. Consequently, the activities of currency exchange offices have been halted, and websites that publish exchange rates no longer report the price of the dollar in the free market or only mention it around the official rate. The Moghaddam website, one of these sites, reported the price of the US dollar on Saturday as four thousand one hundred seventy-nine tomans, which has remained unchanged compared to previous days. However, the same website reported the price of the euro as seven thousand five hundred sixty-four tomans and the British pound as eight thousand five hundred ninety-four tomans, indicating an increase of about four percent compared to Thursday. ILNA's report cites economic experts who state that the reasons for the increase in currency rates in Iran are expectations and psychological factors stemming from the approaching deadline for Donald Trump's decision regarding the nuclear agreement with Iran. Mr. Trump has given his European partners until May 22 to make changes to the JCPOA, but Iran does not accept changes to the agreement. The exchange rate in Iran was about three thousand five hundred tomans until the second half of last year but experienced a significant jump, especially during the Nowruz holidays, surpassing six thousand tomans, prompting the government to consider a single exchange rate and issue a directive to control its price. Previously, Valiollah Seif, the head of the Central Bank of Iran, stated that the increase in the dollar price was only occurring on the social media platform 'Telegram' and that no real transactions were taking place. However, now that Telegram is filtered in Iran, Central Bank officials have yet to provide a new reason for the increase in foreign currency rates. Mr. Seif had also advised the public last winter not to buy dollars as they would become cheaper. However, it is not only foreign currencies that have seen a staggering increase in price; gold coins have experienced a similar fate. ILNA's report states that on Saturday, the price of gold coins surpassed two million tomans, reaching between two million thirty thousand to two million eighty thousand tomans. The figures on the Moghaddam website show even sharper changes in gold coin prices. This site lists the price of the new design gold coin at two million one hundred seventy thousand tomans, indicating an increase of 8.29 percent compared to Thursday.