Iran’s rial rebounds on news blocked funds could be released

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said in Monday report that the rial had rallied by over three percent against the US dollar to sell at 214,300 in closing hours of trade in the unofficial currency market in downtown Tehran.

The report expected exchange prices would continue to fall on Tuesday as people were queuing up to sell their foreign banknotes.

Rial’s slight recovery came hours after CBI governor Abdolnasser Hemmati said parts of Iranian funds blocked in other countries because of the US sanctions would be released.

Writing on his Instagram page, Hemmati said he had “some positive news” that the funds would be released, without elaborating on more details.

For months, Iran has been pressuring South Korea to allow it access between $6.5 billion and $9 billion in blocked funds in the South Asian country for purchase of basic goods, including food and medicine.

Hemmati had hinted in March that the funds in South Korea, which have been frozen by banks under pressure from the United States, could be released soon.

“We hope we could use these unblocked funds for provision of basic goods, medicine, medical equipment and people’s urgent necessities,” Hemmati said at the time, according to remarks covered by the official IRNA news agency.

Falling exchange prices on Monday also pushed the gold down by more than eight percent, said the report by Tasnim, adding that the price of a benchmark 8.133-gram gold coin, known as Bahar Azadi, had dropped by 8,700,000 rials to stand at 96,350,000 rials ($449.3).