Iran Market Pulse: Wednesday Morning, 15 July 2026; Emami Coin Near 181 Million Tomans as Global Gold Holds Near $4,050

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Wednesday morning, 24 Tir 1405 (15 July 2026). In overnight and early parallel-market trade, it was gold and coins, not the dollar, that led the way. The Emami coin rose about 2.25% to roughly 180,985,000 tomans, and a gram of 18-karat gold climbed 1.19% to about 17,892,000 tomans as of Tuesday evening, 23 Tir. Both outpaced the free-market dollar, which firmed 1.73% to hold its record 184,110 tomans. The engine behind the move was the global market: spot gold held near $4,050 after a softer-than-expected US inflation print and amid Strait of Hormuz tensions.

The other side of the market told a different story. The Tehran Stock Exchange retreated for yet another session, and by the close on Tuesday, 23 Tir, 3,275 billion tomans of retail ("haghighi", individual-investor) money had left the market. This familiar divergence, parallel assets rising while equities drift lower, remains the central narrative of Iran's markets.

Today's Snapshot

Every figure is dated and sourced in the text below; domestic prices are Tehran local time and draw on the latest free-market data and the Sahmino prices pages.

Today's Headlines

• The tenth gold-ingot auction of the year was held Tuesday, 23 Tir, at Iran's Currency and Gold Exchange Center. Of 31 kilograms offered, 29 kilograms were sold, bringing this year's total ingot sales to roughly 575 kilograms worth about 14.4 trillion tomans (per economic press).

• US June inflation data, released 14 July, fell 0.4% on the month and pulled the annual rate down to 3.5%, softer than markets expected (per CNBC and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics), a factor in a weaker global dollar and firmer gold.

• Retail money left the bourse: the retail-money balance on Tuesday, 23 Tir, was negative 3,275 billion tomans, with about 51% of symbols closing lower (per Tejarat News and Ta'adol).

• Brent held above $85; announced restrictions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz continue to support oil prices (per global agencies).

Currency

The free-market dollar rose 1.73% (about 3,125 tomans) in late Tuesday trade to 184,110 tomans, consolidating at its record level. The "agreed" (توافقی / tavafoghi) rate was effectively level with the open market at around 184,085 tomans. By contrast, the Exchange Center remittance rate (the official rate used for part of the country's imports) stood at 149,627 tomans, meaning the gap between the remittance rate and the open market has widened to about 23%. That gap is the coiled spring that has kept steady pressure on the free market and held the live currency rates in the channel above 180,000 tomans.

Why: the mix of political and security uncertainty after recent tensions has kept hedging demand for currency and gold high. Until the path to negotiation and the reopening of currency channels becomes clearer, the market keeps adjusting to fresh floors. This is the "data reality"; anything said about where the trend goes next is observation, not advice to buy or sell.

Gold and Coin

Last night's star was the yellow metal. A gram of 18-karat gold rose 1.19% to about 17,892,000 tomans by Tuesday evening, and the Emami coin jumped 2.25% (nearly 3,975,000 tomans) to about 180,985,000 tomans. Other pieces also gained: the Bahar Azadi coin around 175,200,000, the half-coin around 93,200,000, the quarter-coin around 52,000,000, and the gram coin around 27,000,000 tomans (per Ta'adol and Eghtesad Online for 23 Tir). The Emami coin premium (حباب / the gap between the coin's market price and its melt value) is estimated in the 5 to 6 million toman range depending on the source. The key point: the coin rose more than the dollar did, meaning the main driver of the increase this time was the global gold price, not just the exchange rate. To understand how the premium is built, follow the coin prices and gold prices pages.

The global link: spot gold held near $4,050 (roughly $4,030 to $4,050) after the mild US inflation print, keeping its footing above $4,000. Lower expectations of tighter Federal Reserve policy softened the global dollar, and that worked in gold's favor. At home, the year's tenth gold-ingot auction ran Tuesday at the Exchange Center, with an average price of about 23.5 billion tomans per ingot, a tool policymakers use to manage physical gold demand.

Stocks

Opposite the gold market, the Tehran Stock Exchange closed Tuesday, 23 Tir, in the red again. The main index (TEDPIX) fell 0.85% (about 42,077 points) to 4,924,684, and the equal-weighted index eased 0.24% to 1,323,521. Retail turnover in shares, rights, and equity funds was about 26,375 billion tomans, and the retail-money balance came in at negative 3,275 billion tomans, meaning continued outflows of individual-investor capital. About 51% of symbols traded in negative territory (per Tejarat News and Ta'adol).

Why: part of this decline continues the same rotation of money out of equities and into parallel assets (gold, coins, currency); when the daily return on gold and coins outruns stocks, retail investors take shelter in what feels safer. Another psychological factor is uncertainty over when war-damaged symbols will reopen, together with political ambiguity. These are cautious observations, not firm forecasts.

Crypto

The global crypto market was quiet. Bitcoin rose a slight 0.52% to around $64,795 (roughly 11.9 billion tomans), and Ethereum was little changed near $1,877 (close to 344 million tomans). Tether traded domestically at about 183,460 tomans, slightly below the free-market dollar. The key point for an Iranian reader is that the toman price of crypto embeds two variables at once: the global dollar price and the domestic dollar rate. The soft US inflation data and the softer global dollar have made the liquidity backdrop a little more favorable.

Iron and Steel

In the physical steel market, factory-gate ribbed rebar (the Arian Foulad reference) was around 65,450 tomans per kilogram in size 10 and about 64,180 tomans in size 12 (14 Jul). Domestic steel prices feed mainly on two drivers: the exchange rate, which raises production costs, and the trend in global steel and iron-ore prices. With the dollar consolidating at a fresh record, the floor under steel prices has stayed high. Commodity Exchange (IME) offerings and their discovered prices will be the main gauge of this week's direction.

Cars

The auto market had no fresh, confirmed price event overnight and is mostly watching two variables: the dollar's consolidation at its 184,000-toman record, which keeps a floor under open-market car prices, and factory pricing decisions (the Competition Council and the Ministry of Industry) that set the gap between the factory price and the open market (the market margin). Until a fresh official pricing announcement lands, this market largely tracks the exchange rate.

Building Materials

In building materials, a ton of bulk Type 2 Portland cement (the Tehran Cement reference) was about 4,014,000 tomans and the Abyek reference about 3,673,000 tomans; a 50-kilogram bag ran between 218,000 and 258,000 tomans depending on the brand (14 Jul). In equities, cement index funds (such as Simano and Simana) rose about 3% on Tuesday. The main driver here is seasonal construction demand and energy costs.

Regional and Global Backdrop

Globally, spot gold held near $4,050, with Brent crude at $85.46 and WTI at $79.83 (15 Jul); Strait of Hormuz restrictions continue to keep a floor under oil. The global dollar softened somewhat after the mild US inflation print, and EUR/USD traded at 1.1441 (15 Jul). In Iran's neighborhood, the UAE dirham rose 1.68% to about 50,338 tomans and the Iraqi dinar gained 1.91% to about 133 tomans; the rise in these currencies directly mirrors the dollar's climb inside Iran. The Turkish lira held around 47.04 against the dollar and the Chinese yuan around 6.77. The channel to Tehran is clear: every move in the dollar and global gold is reflected immediately in the toman prices of gold, coins, and imported goods.

What to Watch Today

Today is Wednesday, and the Tehran bourse opens at 9 a.m.; the equity market's reaction to continued retail outflows is the most important domestic point. Alongside it, watch: the results and discovered prices of Commodity Exchange offerings (steel and cement), any word on the next gold-ingot auction at the Exchange Center, any fresh Central Bank statement on currency policy, and globally, the path of spot gold and oil after the US inflation data. Scheduled events are on the Sahmino events calendar. This list is for watching only and contains no buy or sell advice.