Currencies Gain, Gold Slightly Lower

Each US dollar was quoted 155,000 rials by exchange-bureaus affiliated to the Central Bank of Iran, up 4,000 rials compared with Sunday’s close, according to Financial Tribune.

The euro hiked more than 3% and was changed for 170,000 rials while the UK pound sterling moved above 200,000 rails, according to data from Tehran Gold and Jewelry Union website. 

Currency rates in Tehran’s open market went as high as 156,000 rials to a dollar in early hours of trading session before retreating back to 153,000 rials. 

Observers see the pull-back as the outcome of intervention of the Central Bank of Iran in the market through bank-based moneychangers.  The CBI says it closely monitors the chaotic currency market and intervenes whenever necessary to “regulate prices”.  

However, the bout of volatility in currency market could be ascribed to investors’ worries about risks the coronavirus pandemic poses and a possible shortage of hard currency revenue that may ensue. 

The pandemic has officially claimed 66 deaths and infected close to 1,000 people in Iran since its outbreak about two weeks, the Health Ministry says.  

Gold Loses Luster 

Cold coin prices in Tehran dipped slightly on Monday despite the upsurge in currency prices and a bullish trend in global markets. 

Emami gold coin was worth 58.99 million rials, down 0.25% compared to Sunday’s close. The price of one Bahar Azadi gold coin declined to 57.90 million rials, 1.2% lower than the previous day.

Mohammad Keshti Aray, head of Iran’s Specialized Gold and Jewelry Commission said the sluggish gold market is due to lack of trade, adding that the market is almost shut down due to the infectious virus. 

Gold rose more than 1.5% on Monday in world markets, recovering from its biggest one-day decline in nearly seven years, on the potential for interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve to soften the economic impact from the coronavirus outbreak, according to Reuters.