Where Will Rial’s Depreciation End?

How much more is the local currency going to lose its value? This is a question weighing on Iranians’ minds these days. There is a crying need to know the response, we are approaching the end of the year [the Iranian year begins and ends late March] and markets are expected to change ever more. Government officials and the head of the central bank have yet to introduce a proper economic strategy to deal with the currency downtrend. Why is the economy and foreign exchange market in this poor state? Morteza Afqeh, an economist, prefaced his write-up for the Persian daily Etemad with this question. A translation of the text follows:

The most important strategy to overcome the current economic challenges is to end the sanctions by reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [the formal name of the nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers in 2015].