Iraq's foreign reserves drop to $50 billion

Iraq's foreign exchange reserves have dropped to $50 billion as the Opec nation continues to run a budget deficit because of falling oil income, state-run newspaper al-Sabah said on Wednesday, citing Central Bank Governor Ali al-Alak. Iraq' foreign reserves stood at $59 billion at the end of October 2015, according to a government memo to the International Monetary Fund in January. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday announced plans to narrow the public deficit by 38 percent next year through lower spending and higher levels of oil exports and prices.