Baghdad, Feb 8 (IANS): The Iraqi government has decided to raise the value of the Iraqi dinar against the US dollar to limit the impact of the dollar's appreciation on Iraqi citizens.

The decision was announced after a meeting of the Iraqi Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, which decided to raise the value of Iraq's currency to 1,300 Iraqi dinars for one US dollar, up from 1,450 dinars, said al-Sudani's media office in a statement on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) said it would start selling US dollars at the new official price on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The goal of the move is to stabilise the goods' prices to protect the purchasing power of Iraqi citizens, the statement added.

The government took the action in an attempt to control the exchange rate of the US dollar in Iraq after sharp fluctuations in the Iraqi exchange market recently, as the value of one US dollar rose to more than 1,700 Iraqi dinars, compared to the official rate of 1,450 dinars.

The recent dollar inflation led to an increase in the prices of commodities, including food products in Iraq.

Late last month, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the CBI complex on the al-Rasheed Street, protesting the devaluation of the Iraqi dinar and demanding the government take action to stabilise the currency.