Government scrambles for solutions as Iraq faces financial free fall
Confronting low oil prices and a pandemic, Iraq will likely be forced to draw heavily from its foreign currency reserves while slashing oil and investment spending.![](https://cdn.iraqoilreport.com/wp-content/uploads/Ghadhban-Cabinet-meeting-600x374.jpg)
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy and Oil Minister Thamir Ghadhban chairs a Cabinet meeting, conducted by videoconference, to discuss the country's health sector and the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, on April 1, 2020. (Photo credit: Iraqi Council of Ministers)
As Iraq descends into a severe financial crisis caused by low oil prices, the government has no clear plan for dealing with a multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall and the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
State oil revenues in March, of just $2.989 billion, left the government $2 billion short of the cash required just to pay public sector salaries and pensions – and well below the $9 billion of monthly expenditures outlined in the most recent budget law.
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