Gold rate today in Basra

Today's gold price in Basra

The international price puts a gram of 24k gold in Basra at roughly 197,385 IQD today, with 22k at about 180,943 IQD. Per mithqal (5 grams), the unit Iraqi gold is quoted in, that is about 986,924 IQD for 24k and 863,558 IQD for 21k. These are spot-based figures, before any tax, premium or making charge.

Imported gold through Basra airport

Basra's airport is one of the four Iraqi airports through which imported gold arrives, according to the Ministry of Planning in January 2025. A designated centre there, with testing equipment and trained staff, checks the gold before it goes on sale.

Under the federal rule, every piece of imported gold landing at Basra must be inspected and stamped by the Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control before it reaches the shops.

What moves the gold price in Basra

Everything on a Basra rate board starts from the same place: the dollar price of gold (about $4,042.7 an ounce today) converted at the USD/IQD rate of 1,518.63. The Central Bank of Iraq sells dollars to banks at 1,510 dinars since 7 October 2026 (1,520 to end users); the dinar gold price is the dollar price times the rate a shop uses.

The dollar price itself responds to US interest-rate expectations, the strength of the dollar, inflation data, central-bank buying and geopolitical risk. Our guide to what moves gold prices covers each in turn.

Premiums, making charges and tax in Basra

The shelf price in Basra is higher than the converted figure above. A shop adds the making charge, the 5% customs levy on imported gold and the shop's margin. On jewellery a making charge comes on top, so two pieces of the same weight and purity can carry very different prices. 21 karat is the main standard, sold per mithqal of 5 grams; imported gold outside the Kurdistan Region is tested and stamped by COSQC.

Gold market hours in Basra

The international gold market trades almost around the clock on weekdays. In Basra the London–New York overlap, usually the busiest and most volatile part of the day, runs today from about 16:00–20:00 local time. The two LBMA Gold Price auctions in London, at 10:30 and 15:00 London time, fall at 13:30 and 18:00 in Basra, and major US data released at 08:30 New York time, such as payrolls and inflation, lands at 16:30 local time. The week's trading closes at 01:00 on Saturday and reopens at 02:00 on Monday, Basra time; over the weekend the price on this page is the last close. We found no gold exchange; wholesale prices are quoted per mithqal in markets such as Baghdad's al-Nahr Street, from the international price and the dollar rate. Our gold market hours tool shows the sessions in any time zone.

Basra compared with Baghdad

Basra and Baghdad both price gold in IQD off the same international price and the same exchange rate, so the converted figure is identical: about 197,385 IQD per gram of 24k in both. Any difference at the counter comes from making charges, dealer premiums and how hard the shops compete.

How this IQD gold price is calculated

Three numbers decide everything on this page. First, the international gold price in US dollars per troy ounce: $4,042.7 at the last update. Second, the exchange rate: 1 USD = 1,518.63 IQD. Third, the weight: one troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, and one tola is 11.6638 grams.

1. Price per gram in USD = $4,042.7 ÷ 31.1035 = $129.98.
2. Price per gram in IQD = $129.98 × 1,518.63 = 197,385 IQD (24k, pure gold).
3. Price per mithqal = 197,385 × 5 = 986,924 IQD.
4. For a lower purity, multiply by the fineness: 22k = 0.9167, 21k = 0.875, 18k = 0.75.

The gold price is the spot price of gold (XAUUSD) from a public real-time feed, refreshed every few seconds while the page is open; the 7-day table and the 30-session chart use COMEX gold futures closes, which usually sit a few dollars above spot. The exchange rate is a mid-market rate; the rate your bank or money changer gives you will be slightly different. If you want to do the maths yourself, our guide to converting the gold price per gram, tola and kilo walks through every step with worked examples.

What this price does not include

The figures above are the international spot price converted into local currency. They are the starting point for every retail price in Basra, but they are not the price you will pay or receive at a shop. The shop price adds some or all of these on top:

• Import duty or customs charges, where gold or jewellery is imported.
• Sales tax or VAT, where the country charges one. Many countries tax jewellery but not investment bars; the sections above say what applies here.
• Dealer premium: the margin a bullion dealer or bank adds to the spot price for bars and coins, usually larger on small pieces.
• Making charges (labour) on jewellery, often a percentage of the gold value or a fixed amount per gram.
• Local supply and demand, which can push the physical price to a premium or a discount against the international price for weeks at a time.

When you sell, the buyer usually quotes below the spot-based number and deducts for purity testing, wear and sometimes stones. The gap between the buying and the selling price is the real cost of owning physical gold, and it varies a lot between shops, so it is worth asking several.

Frequently asked questions