Iran's currency, the real, fell to an all time low Sunday. The real lost an additional 6% of its value against the dollar, and the current rate of exchange is 28,600 reals per dollar. Last Thursday, the rate was 26,900 reals per dollar.

The real has lost 60% of its value on world currency markets since the beginning of the year. One result of the depreciation has been a sharp increase in the price of everything, imported or domestically produced, as well as shortages, as merchants hoard goods and products fearing that the money they are paid today will be worth quite a bit less tomorrow. Iran's central banker, Mahmoud Bahamani, said he expected the precipitous fall of the real to end soon, because the country's foreign currency reserves – said to be about $100 million – are stable.