Hemmati Says Central Bank Has Supplied $500 Million in Negotiated-Rate FX to the Parallel Market; Gap With the Free Dollar Still 21 Percent (Thursday, Shahrivar 5, 1405)

Today, August twenty seventh, the gap between the free and negotiated dollar reached twenty one percent. Hemmati, the central bank governor, said five hundred million dollars was supplied at the negotiated rate. The free dollar traded near two hundred thousand tomans, the negotiated rate near one hundred fifty eight thousand. The gap between the two rates is close to forty two thousand five hundred tomans. That gap alone can create an incentive for speculation. The dollar this week rose from two hundred thousand tomans to a peak near two hundred four thousand tomans. Hemmati says this is not currency flooding, but a tool to curb speculation. He said five hundred million dollars has been supplied, with more available if needed. A twenty one percent gap, on a scale from zero to forty percent, is still wide open. The real question is whether the market trusts this supply to continue. If it does, some of the fear driven demand could ease. The five hundred million dollar figure alone is not the whole story; whether it continues is. Watch the rate gap and any further dollar banknote supply in the coming days. The full story is on Sahmino dot com; do you think this gap narrows or widens?