Iraq devalues dinar to 1,520 per US dollar, state news agency says

By Tala Ramadan and Ahmed Rasheed Oct 7 (Reuters) Iraq s cabinet approved a new exchange-rate structure for the dinar, setting a rate of 1,520 dinars per US dollar, ​roughly 14.5% below the previous official rate, according to ‌a Council of Ministers decision and a Finance Ministry statement. Economists said the devaluation was a response to the disruption of oil sales, the country s biggest source of revenue, caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran. Adopted on ‌Tuesday ​and effective on Wednesday, the decision ⁠set the Finance Ministry s purchase ⁠rate at 1,500 dinars per dollar and the rate for sales by banks and non-bank financial institutions to end beneficiaries at 1,510 dinars per dollar. The dinar devaluation is essentially ​a fiscal response to the shock to Iraq s oil revenues from the Iran war and disrupted exports, Mohammed al-Saffar, an ⁠Iraqi analyst said. It gives the government ⁠more dinars for each dollar of oil revenue, ​but raises import costs and reduces households’