Gold In Iran Soars By 23% In One Week As All Currency Transaction Tracking Disappears

Gold In Iran Soars By 23% In One Week As All Currency Transaction Tracking Disappears (ZeroHedge, Oct 9, 2012):

Just over a week ago we we were the first to shed light on the reality of hyperinflation on the ground in Iran – and subtley suggested the whole thing could be watched in real-time. Soon after, a mysterious cabal of 16 currency manipulators was arrested and the Rial jumped dramatically higher (according to official sources) – as if by magic there was no problem at all. This all sounded a little too good to be true (just like unemployment rates in slightly more controlled economies). Sure enough, by the power of social media, we now know it was too good to be true.As open-market foreign exchange rates – not just Rial-to-Dollar – have disappeared from the major currency exchange sites, as trade has reportedly slowed to near suspension after the Central Bank ‘imposed’ a rate of 28,500 Rials to the USD this weekend.

Critically, though, via EAWorldView, while the ‘real’ rate for the Irainian Real is effectively blacked out, gold prices continue to soar. ‘Old gold coin’ is now selling for 16 million Rials, up 23% from the pre-suspension 13 million Rial levels – even as the

Central Bank tries to suppress reality (especially to the rest of the world’s gaze) as hyperinflation continues – though less transparently.

Just over a week ago we we were the first to shed light on the reality of hyperinflation on the ground in Iran – and subtley suggested the whole thing could be watched in real-time. Soon after, a mysterious cabal of 16 currency manipulators was arrested and the Rial jumped dramatically higher (according to official sources) – as if by magic there was no problem at all. This all sounded a little too good to be true (just like unemployment rates in slightly more controlled economies). Sure enough, by the power of social media, we now know it was too good to be true. 

As open-market foreign exchange rates – not just Rial-to-Dollar – have disappeared from the major currency exchange sites, as trade has reportedly slowed to near suspension after the Central Bank ‘imposed’ a rate of 28,500 Rials to the USD this weekend.

Critically, though, via EAWorldView, while the ‘real’ rate for the Irainian Real is effectively blacked out, gold prices continue to soar. ‘Old gold coin’ is now selling for 16 million Rials, up 23% from the pre-suspension 13 million Rial levels – even as the

Central Bank tries to suppress reality (especially to the rest of the world’s gaze) as hyperinflation continues – though less transparently.

As Iran Rial Implodes By 20% In One Day, Follow The Death Of A Currency In Real Time

As Iran Rial Implodes By 20% In One Day, Follow The Death Of A Currency In Real Time (ZeroHedge, Oct 1, 2012):

Iranian clerics’ attempts to curb speculation in the Rial and stabilize the currency appear to have backfired as the un-official (real) Rial rate traded as low as 34,250 Rial to the USD this morning – a massive 20% plunge. Demand for gold is surging (as Tehran exchange volume is up almost 18% today) as the population appears to be readying itself for hyperinflationary death – as we wrote yesterday, it really is no fun in Iran. The following tables/links will allow the real-time monitoring of that market’s collapse – since Bloomberg’s official rates are entirely useless.
Via Reuters:

The rial’s losses have accelerated in the past week after the government launched an “exchange centre” designed to supply dollars to importers of some basic goods at a special rate slightly cheaper than the market rate.

Instead of allaying fears about the availability of dollars, the centre seems to have intensified the race for hard currency by linking the special rate to the market rate, meaning that even privileged importers will face sharply higher costs.

“The government’s initiative … brought to the surface a tremendous lack of confidence in its ability to manage the currency,” said Cliff Kupchan, a Middle East expert at the Eurasia Group, a political risk research firm. “The attempt to fix it triggered a worse crisis via market psychology.”

It appears that locals are extremely active in selling out of their Rials and moving it into Gold (implicitly via the USD we pre-suppose). The rates for Gold across markets and weights/scales in Iran can be found here – www.mesghal.com

For more details:

Read moreAs Iran Rial Implodes By 20% In One Day, Follow The Death Of A Currency In Real Time