Iraq – Despite higher oil revenues-consumer price hike and poltical uncetainty unnerve public

Location: Baghdad – Iraq

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:05:29

Sound: Natural

Source: A24 in Baghdad

Restrictions: A24 subscribers

Date: 23/08/ 2022

Storyline:

Despite higher oil prices filling the central bank with foreign currency reserves, everyday Iraqis worry the ongoing political crisis will lead to an erosion of their standard of living.

On Sunday, Ammar Khalaf,  the central bank’s deputy governor, announced Iraq’s foreign currency reserves are now above $80 billion and likely to hit $90 billion by the end of the year.

But in the marketplaces of Baghdad, citizens say any escalation of the political crisis will cause a significant rise in prices.

Resident Jassem Al-Khazraji told A24 that a lack of security leads to confusion, forcing citizens to shop and buy more than needed foodstuffs.

The government’s debt as a percentage of GDP is forecast to fall to about 47 percent this year from 66 percent of output in 2021- the biggest of any government in the Middle East and North Africa.

But global credit agency Finch echoes the anxiety on the streets of the capital, where there is significant uncertainty about public finance trends – especially regarding electricity subsidies and the public sector payroll.

Shotlist:

– Soundbite (Ali Mahdi – Iraqi citizen):

“People are anxious about a negative change in the living conditions, even though the price of the US dollar has remained fixed since the state’s decision to set the new price. We hope differences will be resolved through dialogue. If the situation remains the same, Iraqi citizens will be the ones to suffer. The rise in price of the US dollar will affect the citizens greatly.”

– Soundbite (Galeb Al-Shahbandar – Political Analyst):

“People are anxious and stocking up on essential supplies, due to political differences in Iraq and sudden rise in global market prices. One of the issues causing people concern is the Iranian-American conflict in Iraq. There are other issues in Iraq that citizens fear will cause rising prices, economic crisis, and market disruption, which have led them to crowd markets to stock up on food.”

– Soundbite (Jassem Al-Khazraji – Iraqi citizen):

“Political impact on the market is evident; any problem that occurs affects the citizens directly. Lack of security leads to a state of confusion, which forces citizens to shop, and buy more than needed foodstuffs. The increase in demand results in a rise in already high prices. Iraqi citizens are living a life of instability.”