Nuevos billetes iraquíes

Iraqi banknotes bearing the face of Saddam Hussein ceased to be legal tender on 15th January 2004. New notes carrying pictures of historic Iraqi sites and artefacts have been in circulation since October 2003, and their value has risen sharply.

This report from Mark Gregory:

The Iraqi dinar has risen a third or so in value against the dollar since the new banknotes began to circulate. One factor has been the gradual pick up of the Iraqi economy after the devastation of the war. There are simply more transactions taking place, which has supported the value of the currency. And it seems Iraqis trust the new dinar banknotes more than they did the old ones, which featured pictures of Saddam Hussein.

The new notes, printed in Britain, contain sophisticated features to protect against forgery. But the dinar's rise has also been driven by speculators. Large amounts of new Iraqi currency have been smuggled across borders to be stashed in other Arab nations.

Speculators are betting the dinar will rise much further still in years to come as the country make full use of its oil wealth. Cross border smuggling has contributed to a shortage of new banknotes in Iraq. Scarcity has pushed up their value.

risen a third or so
subió un tercio aproximadamente

banknotes
billetes

circulate
circular

transactions
operaciones

supported
ha sostenido

forgery
falsificación

speculators
especuladores

stashed
escondida

oil wealth
recursos obtenidos por la venta de petróleo

pushed up
disparado