US Dollar at ‘unprecedented high’ as the end of Ramadan approaches

The US Dollar rate reached new highs as its exchange value increased by two Pounds in a week. Meanwhile, the economic wing of the Council of Ministers approved the establishment of a gold stock market and an agricultural crops stock market yesterday.

The US Dollar rate again jumped to an unprecedented high yesterday as the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) announced SDG 404.4027 for purchase and SDG406.4247 for sale, an increase of two Sudanese Pounds in a week.

The El Baraka Bank recorded the highest price for buying and selling US Dollars, as it determined SDG407 for purchase and SDG409 for sale.

Forex traders at the parallel market in Khartoum reported an increase of three Pound since last week. The Dollar rate rose to SDG410 for purchase and SDG413 for sale. They attributed the rises to the increase in demand because of the Eid El Fitir, the feast marking the end of Ramadan, coming Thursday.

The forex rates stabilised for about two months following the unification of the official and parallel market rates on February 21, after which it then jumped with an increase of SDG20 pounds within two weeks.

The Central Bank yesterday set a profit margin for the Sudanese banks at 0.75 per cent as a maximum for the purchase price of US Dollars.

The CBoS said that the decision “comes within the framework of continuous reviews of procedures related to foreign exchange operations, with the aim of activating the role of the banks in the forex market”.

Minister of Trade Ali Jido formed a committee yesterday, chaired by himself, to monitoring the forex markets and control prices.

Gold and crop stock market

The economic wing of the Council of Ministers approved the establishment of a gold stock market and an agricultural crops stock market yesterday.

Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Jibril Ibrahim confirmed the importance of stock exchanges in developing the economy. “They act as platforms for presenting fair and global prices to dealers in gold and agricultural crops, which enables the state to stop gold smuggling and encourages agriculture.”

Oil fields security

The Oil Fields Security Follow-up Committee affirmed the necessity to activate the ‘quartet mechanism’, which includes the Ministry of Energy, companies, state governments, and civil society.

The Minister of Energy and Oil, Jaden Ebeid, told reporters in Khartoum yesterday that the committee calls for rapid action to avoid the violence the oil fields have been exposed to in former years.

In March 2014, three people were killed and 16 others wounded by security guards at the Balila oil field in West Kordofan.

Jaden announced the development of a services provision plan that will be implemented after the Eid El Fitir holiday (May 12-16) and promised to address the problem of temporary employment in the fields. He stressed the Ministry of Energy's keenness to oblige companies operating in the oil field to implement development projects in the region.

Dockworker protests

Dockworkers in Red Sea state blocked the gates of the Central Bank of Sudan establishment in Port Sudan yesterday in a protest against the bank’s failure to disburse their dues, estimated at SDG200 billion.

The governor of Red Sea state, Abdallah Shangarai, issued a decree to increase the wages of dockworkers by 275 per cent based on the recommendations of the Permanent Dockworkers Committee.

The dockworkers do not enjoy post-service benefits such as retirement pensions, nor do they have any kind of insurance. They rely mainly on daily wages.