BEIRUT: Iran gave permission to money exchange offices on Saturday to start importing foreign currency banknotes, state media reported, in an apparent attempt to stop the rial from plunging to a new low against the dollar.
Iran’s currency has lost about two-thirds of its value this year, hitting a record low last week of 150,000 rial to the US dollar. It recovered to trade at 130,000 per dollar on Saturday in unofficial trade, according to the Bonbast.com currency market website.
The rial has been hit by a weak economy, financial difficulties at local banks and strong demand for safe-haven dollars among Iranians.
Many Iranians fear Washington’s pulling out of a 2015 nuclear deal and renewed US sanctions will cut into Iran’s exports of oil and other goods, which would likely put further pressure on the rial.
A set of US sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry is due to take effect in November.
“Currency exchange offices have been given permission to import currency into the country and they can import currency in the form of bills,” central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Currency exchange offices will also be allowed to import gold, the head of the Iranian Parliament’s economic committee, Mohammad Reza Pourebrahimi, said on Saturday, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA). Imports of both gold and foreign currency by exchange offices were previously forbidden, he said.
“In the past, this issue was forbidden and any kind of import would be considered contraband,” Pourebrahimi said.
Hemmati, who was appointed central bank governor in July
in an ongoing shakeup of senior Iranian economic officials, made no mention of the decision on gold imports during his comments.
Rial’s plunge forces Iran to open door to foreign money
Rial’s plunge forces Iran to open door to foreign money
Oman money supply rises 6.4% to $68.6bn in November
JEDDAH: Oman’s money supply climbed 6.4 percent to 26.4 billion Omani rials ($68.6 billion) in November, signaling solid liquidity conditions and continued growth in bank deposits, official data showed.
The increase in broad money — a measure that includes cash in circulation and bank deposits — was driven by a 12.2 percent rise in cash and demand deposits, alongside a 4.1 percent increase in savings and time deposits, the Oman News Agency reported.
The latest reading follows steady gains earlier in 2025, with money supply up 6.1 percent in the three months through August. This was supported by a 6.9 percent rise in narrow money and a 5.8 percent increase in quasi-money. The trend reflects sustained liquidity conditions and stronger deposit growth across the banking system.
The expansion in monetary aggregates points to continued liquidity and policy support for private-sector lending, as Oman advances fiscal and economic reforms under its Vision 2040 strategy.
“During the same period, currency in circulation increased 1.9 percent, while demand deposits rose 14.1 percent,” the ONA report stated.
At conventional commercial banks, the weighted average deposit rate in Omani rials declined to 2.50 percent in November from 2.73 percent a year earlier, while the weighted average lending rate eased to 5.45 percent from 5.67 percent over the same period.
The overnight interbank lending rate averaged 3.92 percent in November, down from 4.56 percent a year earlier, reflecting a decline in the weighted average repo rate to 4.5 percent from 5.30 percent, influenced by US Federal Reserve policy shifts.
Meanwhile, total assets of Islamic banks and windows reached about 9.3 billion Omani rials by the end of November, accounting for 19.4 percent of the Gulf state’s total banking sector assets.
“This marks a 12.3 percent increase compared with the same period in 2024,” ONA reported, citing data from the Central Bank of Oman.
Total financing by Islamic banking units rose 10.3 percent to around 7.5 billion rials, while deposits increased 10.9 percent to approximately 7.3 billion rials by the end of November.
The November data follows the International Monetary Fund’s 2025 Article IV consultation report, released earlier this month, which highlighted the continued resilience of Oman’s economy amid global uncertainty.
The IMF cited steady growth in non-hydrocarbon sectors, low inflation, and broadly sound fiscal and external positions, underscoring the effectiveness of Oman’s coordinated economic and financial policies.
