Iraqi PM replaces Central Bank governor over currency drop

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister has replaced the governor of the country’s Central Bank following a weekslong plunge of the Iraqi dinar. Iraq’s state news agency reported that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani made the move on Monday after the governor, Mustafa Ghaleb Mukheef, told him he no longer wishes to stay in the job. The report says Mukheef was replaced by Muhsen al-Allaq, a former central bank governor. The dinar has lost nearly 7% of its value since mid-November. The drop has affected markets in the oil-rich but corruption-plagued Iraq, where many are seeing their purchasing power take a hit.