BAGHDAD, Iraq

Iraq's Central Bank has devalued the national currency against the US dollar by almost 20 percent.

The bank said on Sunday that the exchange rate will be set at 1,450 dinars per dollar to the Finance Ministry and at 1,460 to public banks.

Dollar will be sold to the public at 1,470 dinars, the central bank said.

Previously, the dollar was sold for 1,182 Iraqi dinars.

The devaluation came as the Iraqi government faces a financial crisis brought by low oil prices as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Iraqi move to devaluate the currency has sparked public outrage as the devaluation would worsen economic woes for the Iraqi civilians.

Iraq, the world’s third-largest oil exporter, says the devaluation was necessary to overcome the country’s economic crisis.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara