Qatari riyal

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Qatari riyal
ريال قطري (Arabic)
ISO 4217 Code QAR
User(s) Qatar
Inflation 7.2%
Source The World Factbook, 2006 est.
Pegged with U.S. dollar = 3.64 riyal
Subunit
1/100 dirham
Symbol QR or ر.ق
Coins 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 dirham
Banknotes 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 riyal
Central bank Qatar Central Bank
Website www.qcb.gov.qa

The riyal (Arabic: ريال, ISO 4217 code: QAR) is the currency of Qatar. It is divided into 100 dirham (درهم) and is abbreviated as either QR (English) or ر.ق (Arabic).

Contents

History

Until 1966, Qatar used the Indian rupee as currency, in the form of Gulf rupees. When India devalued the rupee in 1966, Qatar, along with the other states using the Gulf rupee, chose to introduce its own currency. Before doing so, Qatar briefly adopted the Saudi riyal, then introduced the Qatar and Dubai riyal. The Saudi riyal was worth 1.065 rupees, whilst the Qatar and Dubai riyal was equal to the rupee prior to its devaluation.

Until 1973, Qatar and Dubai jointly issued the riyal. However, following Dubai's entrance into the United Arab Emirates, Qatar began issuing the Qatari riyal separate from Dubai.

Coins

In 1966, coins were introduced in the name of Qatar and Dubai for 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 dirham. In 1973, a new series of coins was introduced in the same sizes and compositions as the earlier pieces but in the name of Qatar only.

Banknotes

On September 18, 1966, the Qatar & Dubai Currency Board introduced notes for 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 riyal. These were replaced in 1973 by notes of the Qatar Monetary Agency in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 riyal. In 1996, the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) took over the issuance of paper money and continued to issue the same denominations as the Monetary Agency.

Current Series
Image Value Main Colour Description
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse
1 Riyal Brown
5 Riyal Green
10 Riyal Orange
[[Image:|100px]] [[Image:|100px]] 50 Riyal Purple
[[Image:|100px]] [[Image:|100px]] 100 Riyal Green & Purple
[[Image:|100px]] [[Image:|100px]] 500 Riyal Blue

Fixed exchange rate

In March 1975, the riyal was officially pegged to the IMF's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). In practice, it has been fixed at 1 U.S. dollar = 3.64 riyal since 19801 2, which translates to approximately 1 riyal = 0.274725 dollar. This rate was made official in July 2001.

Current QAR exchange rates
Use Yahoo! Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD KRW
Use XE.com: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD KRW
Use OANDA.com: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD KRW

Note: Rates obtained from these websites may contradict with pegged rate mentioned above

See also

References

External links

Qatari and Dubai riyal
Preceded by:
Saudi riyal
Reason: delivery of local currency
Ratio: 1.065 Qatari and Dubai riyal = 1 Saudi riyal, or 1 Qatari and Dubai riyal = 1 pre-devalued Gulf rupee
Currency of Qatar
1966 – 1973
Succeeded by:
Qatari riyal
Reason: withdrawal of Dubai from common currency
Ratio: at par
Currency of Trucial States except for Abu Dhabi
1966 – 1973
Succeeded by:
United Arab Emirates dirham
Reason: formed United Arab Emirates (in 1971)
Ratio: at par
Qatari riyal
Preceded by:
Qatari and Dubai riyal
Reason: withdrawal of Dubai from common currency
Ratio: at par
Currency of Qatar
1973 –
Succeeded by:
Current

Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 9 November 2008, at 02:41.

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