Iraq The market has been trading in a tight range in minimal volumes, and could experience sudden movements in response to global oil prices or developments in the local and regional political spheres, according to Invest AD Markets Outlook Middle East and Africa markets bulletin: January 2015.
“Despite continued instability and global oil price weakness there have been a number of positive political developments. The central government has reached an agreement with the Kurdish authorities on exports of oil from the Kurdish region that will contribute more to central government revenues.
“The United Nations has also agreed to allow Iraq to postpone its final payment of reparations to Kuwait for the 1990-1991 Gulf War which will help to ease pressure on the cash-strapped government’s budget. There have also been signs of strength in the corporate sector. GB Auto, an Egyptian company operating in Iraq, reported in its recent quarterly results that its Iraqi operations did well despite the difficult situation on the ground. The market has been trading very small daily volumes, despite those foreign investors is still active and has now according to the exchange, increased their trading share. While in absolute value they have been constant, they made up 42 percent of trading in November, the highest participation they have had since February 2013, when both volumes in absolute (close to US$ 56 million per day) and relative(60 percent of trading) terms were at their highest in the past three years.”