US Dollar jumps above 21 Sudanese Pounds

The “parallel market” in the Sudanese capital has seen a significant increase in the rates of foreign currencies over the past few days. With an exchange rate of more than 21 Sudanese Pounds, the US dollar hit a new record on Sunday.

“This rapid increase is linked to Sudan’s inflation rates and the high demand for the dollar because of the country’s dependence on imports,” Dr Hassan Bashir, Professor of Public Economics and General Policies at El Nilein University, told Radio Dabanga.

“The decision of the US administration to postpone its decision on the definite lifting of the trade sanctions for another three months, and Sudan’s neutral position in the current Gulf crisis are the main external causes for the increase of the Dollar rate,” he said.

According to Former Finance Minister Abdelrahim Hamdi, the foreign exchange reserves in the Central Bank of Sudan have eroded by 70 per cent.

“I cannot rule out that the country will face a financial crisis before the end of this year,” he said in a press briefing organised by the Teiba Press Centre on the US sanctions in Khartoum on Saturday.

“The Sudanese government is besieging itself much more than the USA because of the disastrous erroneous fiscal and monetary policies of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance,” he said.

Hamdi said he expects Washington to lift the economic sanctions on Sudan in October. “A senior Sudanese businessman is working on installing an Arabic gum factory in Khartoum. This is a clear indication of the abolition of sanctions.”