In a rather rare occasion, both the regular exchange bureaux and bank-affiliated exchange shops (which usually sell currency at a bit lower price than the market) both offered the same price for the dollar.
The euro was sold for 156,000 rials, down from the previous trading day's 159,000 rials. Gold and foreign currency rates jumped last week as the US government moved to designate a branch of Iran's military as a terrorist organization.
In an Instagram post after the latest market volatility, the CBI chief Abdolnasser Hemmati said the unwise US move on Monday against the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps was yet another indication of its failed policies targeting Iran's economy and markets, Financial Tribune reported.
Governor of the Central Bank of Iran said despite the latest developments, the CBI has a “strong presence in the foreign exchange market to control currency rates” and cautioned the people against hoarding foreign currency.
After the announcement by Hemmati that the €2 billion allocated for flood relief from the sovereign wealth fund would help stabilize the market, the downward trend for forex rates gained momentum.
The gold market also turned bearish on Saturday as prices continued to decline. The benchmark Bahar Azadi gold coin lost more than 0.5% and fetched 47.46 million rials ($343).
Unprecedented heavy rains which began in late March caused flooding sweep across the country, turning the usual pleasure of Nowruz Holidays into fear and sadness for many Iranian.
The disaster, the expanse of which stretches from northeast to the southwest of the country, has so far killed over 70 people, displaced thousands and incurred heavy losses on farmlands, roads and other infrastructure.