On August 5, Central Bank Governor Mahmud Bahmani said the bank would change the official rate for the dollar within 10 days or by August 15 at the latest. August 15 has long since passed, but the Central Bank has remained mum about the exchange rate.
The rial dropped 9 percent in the three days after Bahmani’s announcement, but has since stabilized in the range of 21,000 to 22,000 rials to the dollar—though it is very close to breaking through the 22,000-mark. (See chart on page five.)
The official exchange rate was set at 12,260 rials to the dollar in January, but it is very hard to buy any dollars at that rate.
Observers were startled by Bahmani’s August 5 announcement of an impending change in the official rate. As a normal practice, Central Banks don’t announce future plans to change a rate; they just make the change and announce it.