Iraq devalues dinar to ease cash crunch, leaving traders in limbo

Baghdad, Iraq – Sitting anxiously in his small office in Jameela market, one of Baghdad’s main wholesale markets, food trader Hamza al-Rudayni is waiting to see what the coming days will bring.A decision by the Iraqi government to devalue the country’s currency, the dinar, against the US dollar has left traders like him facing sudden losses and uncertainty over the prices they should charge for their goods.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iraq’s PM tells Saudi crown prince Iraqi territory will not be used for attackslist 2 of 3Why has search of Ilhan Omar’s home before US midterms caused controversy?list 3 of 3How the Middle East conflict is threatening data centres, internet cablesend of list“I don’t know what to do,” al-Rudayni told Al Jazeera after the devaluation reduced the dollar value of his dinar holdings, leaving him with less money to purchase imported goods.“All I know is I woke up a few days ago to discover that I had lost 25 million Iraqi dinars (roughly $16,500 at the new exchange rate) because of this decision, while larger merchants lost billions,” he said.Al-Rudayni entered the wholesale trade market last year after losing his previous job at a private...