TEHRAN – The Iranian rial fell to a record low on Monday, breaking throughthe 50,000-to-the-dollar mark for the first time as analysts blameduncertainty from Washington.

The rial has lost around a quarter of its value in the past six months,hitting 50,860 against the US dollar, according to Financial InformingNetwork, a trusted Iranian website for open market currency rates.

The gap between that and the official rate, which stood at 37,686 onMonday, has continued to widen.

Iran s government took drastic measures last month to stem the decline inthe free market rate, arresting foreign exchange dealers, freezingspeculators accounts and raising interest rates.

But on the streets of Tehran, long queues continued to gather outsideforeign exchanges in the run-up to this month s Nowruz New Year holiday.

“The issue is psychological rather than economic. There s no reason to buydollars except in the hope that you can sell them later at a higher rate,”said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder of the Europe-Iran Forum, a businessnetwork.

He said Iranians were reacting to worrying news from the United States,where President Donald Trump this month appointed hardline anti-Iranfigures Mike Pompeo and John Bolton to senior posts in his administration.

Many analysts believe Trump will pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal withIran when it next comes up for renewal in May, bringing back cripplingsanctions.

“I see many people looking to invest in neighbouring countries because thisfear is spreading about the future of the JCPOA (nuclear deal),” said NavidKalhor, a Tehran-based financial analyst.

Local officials have complained that Iranians are hoarding billions ofdollars as local banks run short of cash.

“I have friends who go to banks and ask for 15 or 20 million rials ($300 or$400) and they re told to come back in a week because they re out of cash,”said Kalhor. – APP/AFP