Iraqi Central Bank To Drop Dollar for Yuan in Trade With China
The Iraqi central bank announced on 22 February that, for the first time, it plans to allow trade from China to be settled directly in yuan instead of the US dollar to improve access to foreign currency.
“It is the first time imports would be financed from China in yuan, as Iraqi imports from China have been financed in (US) dollars only,” the government’s economic adviser, Mudhir Salih, told Reuters on 22 February.
According to a statement released by the Iraqi central bank, carrying out transactions in the Chinese currency would boost the balances of Iraqi banks with accounts with Chinese banks.
However, this option depends on the size of the central bank’s yuan reserves.
A second option to boost local banks’ yuan balances would involve converting US dollars held in the central bank’s accounts with JP Morgan an
Article from LewRockwell
