TEHRAN, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Major foreign currencies continued to gain against the Iranian rial on Sunday as the country grapples with U.S. sanctions, the novel coronavirus impacts, and low oil prices.
On Sunday, 1 U.S. dollar was traded for 190,500 rials and 1 euro for 215,500 on the street market in the capital Tehran, marking the highest ever rates in Iran.
The U.S. dollar gained more than 5 percent against the rial during the course of a week. The hike put the currency gain against rial at 18.3 percent in the first quarter of the current calendar year that started on March 20.
Market observers see the government's recent decision to stop allocating subsidized currency to fewer goods, including selected food and medicine, as a negative signal to the forex market that the Central Bank of Iran is facing a shortage of foreign currency, according to Eghtesad Online news agency.
The negative political climate is also seen as one of the main factors that has added to volatility in the currency market recently.
It appears that currency dealers and speculators were riding on a negative psychological atmosphere after the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution on Friday criticizing Iran. Enditem
