McDonald's leaving Iceland

Rising costs have forced McDonald's to close it's two sites in Iceland citing the weakness of the Krona to the Euro and rising import costs.

McDonald's requires all materials for its restaurants to be imported, since the Icelandic market is too small to provide the goods locally. Even though the two stores have never been busier profits are down.

The falling krona has made importing from Germany prohibitively expensive. The euro has become almost 80 percent more costly for the Krona.

It is unlikely that the chain's owner will reopen even if the economy improves.

Iceland's first McDonald's opened in 1993, with the then prime minister, David Oddsson, eating the first burger.