TEHRAN, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Steepy depreciation of Iranian local currency rial which started last month continued on Sunday to hit a new low.
On Sunday, one U.S. dollar was traded for 253,000 rials at Tehran's street market, registering a dramatic drop of 8,000 rials in a single day.
The recent hike in dollar's value has put the currency's gain against rial at about 55 percent since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year that started on March 20.
Market observers have blamed the instability of currency in Iran mainly on U.S. sanctions which have caused a significant drop in the country's oil exports, and hence a shortage in currency income.
The sanctions have even made it almost impossible for the Islamic republic to have access to its currency resources in the international banks.
After U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018 and reimposed unprecedented economic, energy and financial sanctions on Iran, the country has experienced tremendous strain on its economy and finance resources.
The fall in value of local currency has also resulted in the rise of prices for commodities at large.
The four-fold devaluation of rial since May 2018 has pushed the inflation rate to higher levels as the official figures indicate.
Senior Iranian religious leaders have called on the administration of President Hassan Rouhani to control the hike of inflation which has "hurt the livelihood of the vulnerable strata of society."
Further, the novel coronavirus pandemic has left its negative impacts on the country's economy, with the service providers and manufacturers suffering significant loss.
Rouhani said earlier that the recent devaluation of local currency against foreign currencies was only a "temporary" matter.
"The shock created in the foreign exchange market is temporary and has no fundamental economic reason," he said on June 23.
He has urged the exporters to return hard currencies, which they have earned from goods they have exported, to the country.
The Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade has also warned that it would revoke export licenses for those who fail to comply with their commitments and bring the hard currency home.
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has also said that it would publish the names of the violators.
Meanwhile, the CBI's authorities have pledged to intervene and control the value of the rial, preventing it from further depreciation. Enditem
