Sudan’s pound hits record low past 7,300 per dollar despite black market crackdown

September 5, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s pound plunged to a record low past 7,300 per U.S. dollar on the parallel market on Saturday, traders said, extending a weeks-long rout despite state crackdowns on unauthorized currency dealers.

The currency has tumbled sharply since the Central Bank of Sudan granted commercial lenders greater flexibility to determine foreign exchange rates and purchase export proceeds. The policy shift accelerated the pound’s slide, triggering a fresh wave of price increases across basic goods and services.

Traders told Sudan Tribune that dollar buying rates reached roughly 7,300 pounds on Saturday, even as widespread disruptions to mobile banking platforms hampered transactions.

The Saudi riyal was offered at 1,850 pounds, the United Arab Emirates dirham at 1,950 pounds, and the Qatari riyal at about 1,900 pounds.

Market participants warned that the local unit could weaken toward 10,000 per dollar without urgent structural intervention from monetary authorities to rein in speculation and inject liquidity.

Authorities in Khartoum have stepped up enforcement measures against unauthorized dealing. The Haj Youssef Criminal Court sentenced two currency traders to two years in prison and fined them 15 million Sudanese pounds each, local media reported, ordering the seizure of confiscated funds.

The convictions followed an operation by the East Nile criminal investigation unit, which arrested individuals in the Soba East district for carrying sums of foreign currency.

Officials argue that speculative trading exacerbates downward pressure on the currency and feeds inflation. Last week, the government established an exchange rate task force led by the finance minister to devise emergency measures to stabilize the currency.

Sudan’s currency crisis has widened the spread between the official banking rate and the parallel market, fueled by severe foreign-reserve shortages and the collapse of productive and commercial output over more than three years of conflict.

Traders noted that police crackdowns would do little to halt the pound’s decline without broader economic measures to resolve hard currency shortages and redirect foreign flows back into formal banking channels.