After months of steep falls in value, the Iranian rial enjoyed a massive rebound Oct. 1-2, rallying 30% against foreign currencies. The open market rate of the US dollar, which had jumped up to around 190,000 rials last week, settled as low as 130,000 rials on Oct. 2.
Amateur videos showed massive crowds of ordinary Iranians on the streets in Tehran and other big cities trying to find money changers who would buy their hard currency, as fears grew that the rial may weaken.
