Parallel-market premium — Baghdad over the official rate

21.5%latest · 2026-10-04

CALCULATED · 2026-10-04 · RUN 2026-10-04

How far above the Central Bank’s rate a dollar changes hands on Baghdad’s street, session by session. The single most watched number in Iraq’s currency: it widens when dollars are scarce or the public doubts the peg, and narrows when the bank’s window is generous.

VS PREVIOUS+0.5 ppHIGH · FULL RECORD22.88%2026-09-19LOW · FULL RECORD14.24%2026-07-26OBSERVATIONS106

21.5% · 2026-10-04 · AM · LATEST

THE SOURCEIraq Monitor calculation (Shafaq bourse report ÷ CBI official rate)

Measured in: % over official
Cadence: twice daily
Tier: calculated

THE METHOD

(Baghdad parallel rate ÷ 100) ÷ CBI official rate − 1, for each bourse session. The official rate is read from the newest CBI working day on or before the session, at most a week back.

READS

The official figure is the CBI’s transfer rate; its cash rate sits about 10 dinars higher, which would shave under a point off the premium. The bourse quotes cash notes.

THE DATADownload CSV106 observations · 2026-07-24 → 2026-10-04

CITE THIS DATASET

Iraq Monitor, "Parallel-market premium — Baghdad over the official rate," from Iraq Monitor calculation (Shafaq bourse report ÷ CBI official rate), https://iraqmonitor.com/data/iqd_parallel_premium.