- #1
Thread Owner
who said the dollar ain't worth Nuttin' ? 
Behind Iran's currency crash
Officially, the Iranian government offers to sell one U.S. dollar for about 12,500Iranian rials. But it only offers that rate on a limited basis.
So Iranians, who need dollars to both buy imported goods and guard their savings against rampant inflation, have developed an extensive black market in dollars. It's on this market that the value of the rial has tumbled.
At the beginning of the year, rials on the black market were worth close to the official rate. But by late September, the rial had lost half its value, trading around 24,000 to the dollar.
In the last few days the currency has plummeted even further. Reports Wednesday said money changers in Tehran were charging 39,000 rial for a dollar -- a staggering 60% slide in a matter of days.
Behind Iran's currency crash - Oct. 5, 2012
Behind Iran's currency crash
Officially, the Iranian government offers to sell one U.S. dollar for about 12,500Iranian rials. But it only offers that rate on a limited basis.
So Iranians, who need dollars to both buy imported goods and guard their savings against rampant inflation, have developed an extensive black market in dollars. It's on this market that the value of the rial has tumbled.
At the beginning of the year, rials on the black market were worth close to the official rate. But by late September, the rial had lost half its value, trading around 24,000 to the dollar.
In the last few days the currency has plummeted even further. Reports Wednesday said money changers in Tehran were charging 39,000 rial for a dollar -- a staggering 60% slide in a matter of days.
Behind Iran's currency crash - Oct. 5, 2012
