Financial Tribune - The US dollar crossed another psychological threshold in Tehran on Monday with price pressures increasing as the end of the Iranian fiscal year approaches in March.

The greenback sold for 130,000 rials in mid-day trading, up from 125,000 rials on Sunday and 122,000 rials at the beginning of the week. Gold prices also continued the upward trend on Monday with the benchmark Bahar Azadi gold coin fetching 44.3 million rials ($341).

Mohammad Kashtiaray, president of the specialized gold and jewelry commission at Iran Chamber of Guild said the main reason behind higher gold prices was the increase in foreign currency rates.