Iran moves away from US dollar in foreign trade

Published time: January 24, 2015 14:11

Edited time: January 27, 2015 16:05

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Reuters/Raheb Homavandi

Iran is stopping mutual settlements in dollars with foreign countries and agreements on bilateral swap in new currencies will be signed in the near future, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has said.

“In trade exchanges with foreign countries, Iran uses other currencies, including Chinese yuan, euro, Turkish lira, Russian ruble and South Korean won,” Gholamali Kamyab, CBI deputy head, told the Tasnim state news agency.

He added that Iran is considering the possibility of signing bilateral monetary agreements with several countries on the use of other currencies.

http://rt.com/business/225919-iran-switches-from-dollar/ （クリックすると英語での解説ページです）

Kamyab believes bilateral currency swap agreements will ease trade and economic transactions between Iran and other states.

Iran is not the first country to move away from the US dollar. In 2014, Russia and China agreed on swaps and forwards in foreign currencies, a move aimed at reducing the influence of the US dollar and foreign exchange risks.

READ MORE: Ditching US dollar: China, Russia launch financial tools in local currencies

Experts believe the establishment of the BRICS Bank was also a major step towards de-dollarization and reducing Western dominance in the global financial system.

READ MORE: BRICS establish $100bn bank and currency pool to cut out Western dominance

The move was made to increase international competition and activate trade and investment cooperation on the world stage.