The new Iraqi dinar, which has replaced bills bearing Saddam Hussein's face, are being traded on the Egyptian black market, official newspapers said here Wednesday.
Al-Ahram newspaper said those buying the new dinar in Egypt are doing so in the hope of making hefty gains when its value increases, when Iraq's economy improves and its oil exports increase.
Al-Akhbar newspaper said the new currency has seen sharp fluctuation on the Egyptian black market. The dinar traded over the past few days between 142 and 111 for one Egyptian pound.
The dollar buys around 6.15 Egyptian pounds in banks and reportedly some seven pounds on the black market.
At the rates quoted by the newspaper, the dinar is doing even better in the Cairo black market than it was on Wednesday in Baghdad, where it reached a post-war high of 1,000 to the dollar.