Short trading by the banks against the Icelandic krona amounted to around ISK 1,000 billion (USD 7.93 billion at today’s rate) right before the banking collapse in 2008, according to economist Bjarni Kristjansson. Read the full story

Eleven cases are expected to be sent from the Central Bank of Iceland to the FME national financial regulator under suspicion of breaking Iceland’s currency exchange rules. The Central Bank is currently looking into around 400 cases. Read the full story

Microsoft’s trade with Icelandic businesses, organisations and individuals will take place at a set rate of ISK 145 to the euro from 31 March. A special Microsoft exchange rate has been used in Iceland for roughly a year already as an effort to thaw the almost totally frozen software market in the country at the time. Read the full story

Service takings from foreign tourists in Iceland have shot up over the last year, with each visitor now spending an average of 50 percent more than before. Read the full story

More people in Iceland will benefit from Wednesday’s large lottery win than just the elderly couple in Kopavogur who won ISK 107 million. In fact the cost of household debt in foreign currencies could decrease by ISK 300 million as a result. Read the full story

The Central Bank of Iceland announced yesterday that the country’s harsh capital controls will be gradually lifted beginning in November, ending the current ‘managed float’ of the fragile Icelandic krona. Read the full story

Iceland is the best value country for British travellers, according to a new report from the British Post Office. The company based its decision on the fact that the Icelandic currency; along with the Jamaican, Hungarian and Polish currencies; has lost ground against the pound while most others are becoming more expensive. Read the full story

The Icelandic krona continued its downward slide yesterday, hitting 220.2 points in the weighted average of foreign currency index. The currency closed on Monday at 212 points. The currency weakened by 3.72 percent yesterday and 4.63 percent so far this week. Read the full story

Iceland’s parliament sat late into the night yesterday discussing an emergency bill on further tightening of the currency exchange market.

The bill was passed around midnight and was set into law in time for the markets to open this morning. Read the full story

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE CENTRAL BANK OF ICELAND:

According to the Rules on Foreign Exchange, no. 1130/2008, the Rules must be reviewed no later than March 1, 2009. After considering the necessary preconditions for lifting the capital controls, the Central Bank of Iceland has decided that these have not been sufficiently established.

The next review of the Rules on Foreign Exchange will occur no later than September 1, 2009, as is stated in the Act on Foreign Exchange, no. 87/1992, with subsequent amendments. The Central Bank of Iceland regularly assesses the effectiveness of the controls as part of its overall monetary policy and is formulating a strategy for their gradual, systematic removal. An assessment of the fulfilment of requirements for capital account liberalisation is also one of the subjects of consultation during the current IMF 1st Review Mission.