Tehran
The US dollar was selling for as much as 304,300 rials on the unofficial market Official exchange rate – used mostly for imports of state-subsidized food and medicine is 42,000 rials per dollar
The Iranian rial fell to a new low against the US dollar on Saturday as the economy reels under pressure from the Covid-19 pandemic and US sanctions.
The dollar was selling for as much as 304,300 rials on the unofficial market; up from 295,940 on Friday, according to the foreign exchange site Bonbast.com.The economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad’s website gave the dollar rate as 303,300, up 6,000 rials.
The currency has lost about 56 percent of its value in 2020 as a drop in oil prices has deepened the economic crisis in the country, which also has the highest Covid-19 death toll in the Middle East.
The official exchange rate used mostly for imports of state-subsidized food and medicine is 42,000 rials per dollar.The United States on Thursday slapped fresh sanctions on Iran’s financial sector.—Agencies