Sudanese pound strengthening against US dollar on black market
September 28, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The exchange rate of the US dollar dropped on the black market in Khartoum in the last couple of days, settling at 9.10 Sudanese pounds (SDG) on Sunday compared to 9.50 (SDG) over the past two weeks.
The government-sponsored Sudan Media Center (SMC) website on Sunday said the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) department of economic security carried out an arrest campaign against traders in the black market.
The former undersecretary of the finance ministry, al-Sheikh Mohamed al-Meck, attributed the decline to an increase in Forex inflow due to an increase in livestock exports to Saudi Arabia in addition to receiving South Sudan’s oil transit fees in the past few days.
He told SMC that this decrease will also result in a drop in the inflation rate and an increase in GDP growth, adding that the good rainy season will also contribute to an increase in agricultural production.
Sayed Ali Zaki, an economist, for his part said the decrease in exchange rate is due to NISS’s campaign against black market traders, as well as reduced Forex demand.
The official dollar exchange rate stated by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) is 5.8 SDG.
Sudan’s economy was hit hard since the southern part of the country declared independence in July 2011, taking with it about 75% of the country’s oil output.
The Sudanese pound has lost more than half its value since South Sudan’s secession, pushing inflation rates to record levels given that the East African nation imports most of its food.
(ST)