Iran currency hits all-time low against dollar

(Tehran) – The Iranian rial hit another all-time low against the US dollar in spite of central bank efforts to stem the decline.

The rial has lost around 15 percent of its value on the open market in the past three days, bottoming at 128,500 to the dollar by Monday evening, according to Bonbast.com, which monitors Iran´s rates.

The drop followed a speech by central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati on Saturday, in which he announced tighter restrictions on allocating foreign exchange reserves, said financial journalist Maziar Motamedi.

“Hemmati said that he wishes to be much more careful in allocating foreign currencies at government rates, signalling a potential forthcoming shortage of hard currency,” he told AFP.

The rial has lost 70 percent of its value in the past year, primarily due to increased hostility from the United States and its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal in May.

Official statements have done little to calm the markets.