NASDAQ Run''s

[RICK C]

Finance & Banking

Demand for dollar exceeds 100 m ceiling in daily auction
By Dergham Mohammed Ali

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Baghdad, 08 June 2007 (Voices of Iraq)

Demand for the dollar soared on Thursday to its highest level in over a fortnight, hitting $104, 355 million compared with $41.235 million on Wednesday, due to high bids made by governmental departments in foreign transfers.

In its daily statement the bank said it had covered all bids, which included $18.545 million in cash and $85.810 million in foreign transfers, at an exchange rate of 1,260 dinars per dollar, unchanged from yesterday.

None of the 17 banks that participated in Thursday's auction offered to sell dollars.

Ali al-Yasseri, a trader at the auction, told VOI "the hike in today's demand for the dollar was due to the high bids made by governmental departments in foreign transfers to honor their commitments with foreign companies."

The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.