Financial Tribune - Mohammad Kashtiaray, president of the specialized gold commission at the Iran Chamber of Guilds, says the gold coin has lost 5% compared to last week

Foreign exchange rates and gold dropped in Iran as markets reopened on Saturday in an expected response to a move by European powers on Thursday to launch a special payment channel for Iran.

In Tehran's open market the USD was traded for 118,000 rials, down from Wednesday's 123,500 rials. The benchmark Bahar Azadi gold coin was traded for slightly above 40 million rials in midday trading, down from Wednesday's 40.3 million rials.

According to Mohammad Kashtiaray, president of the specialized gold commission at Iran Chamber of Guilds, the coin lost 5% compared to last week.

"The volume of deals has dropped due to lower demand for gold and now there are more sellers in the market than buyers," Kashtiaray told the Financial Tribune.