The street suffers from the repercussions of the weak local currency (AFP)
In a new development saw the price dollar In Sudan, a new rise has occurred in recent days, following a period of stability that lasted a full year, amid a state of intense anticipation by dealers, following the official price of the green currency caught up in the parallel market, according to the price list of the Bank of Khartoum, the largest government bank.
retreat Sudanese pound Again, significantly since the beginning of this January, as it recorded an additional decline once morest other currencies in the parallel market, while the exchange rate increased in some banks. The average price of the dollar rose to 585 pounds for purchase on the black market, compared to 587 pounds for sale, motivated by the high demand-to-supply ratio.
Currency rates rose in two banks, while it stabilized in the rest of the banks, and the exchange of the dollar through transfers in the Gulf Bank rose to 580.35 pounds, while the selling price rose to 584.70 pounds, and the exchange of the US currency at Al Baraka Bank rose to 578 pounds, in an attempt by banks to keep up with the parallel market that It started to rise since the beginning of this year.
The price of the dollar reached regarding 573 pounds at the end of last December. According to observers, the parallel currency market, which constitutes 80 percent of Sudanese foreign exchange trading, has remained the main controller of the foreign exchange market in recent years, as it was active outside the banking sector, and that situation constituted a profitable trade for many of the parallel market visitors, due to the price differences between the two markets. official and parallel.
However, there has been a change in the activity of the parallel market, once morest the background of the stability of the exchange rate for a long time, and the government’s previous announcement of the policy of liberalizing exchange rates, so the parallel market is no longer in the same position as the old one, as it moved in a wide range. Commercial banks also tended to raise their prices and keep up with the parallel market prices to attract buying and selling.
According to observers, the rise in dollar prices in the parallel market caused several questions by specialists and observers of the economic affairs in the country, as many see that there is no justification for the depreciation of the Sudanese pound once more, while the country suffers from a state of stagnation and disruption of commercial activity, as merchants complain of a lack of purchasing power and the cessation of Buying and selling operations, with a significant decline in imports and exports.
In this context, economic analyst Abd al-Wahhab Jumaa told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: I do not see a justification for the rise of the American currency, but perhaps it is related to the currency traders themselves, in an attempt to draw attention to them once more, following many engaged in this trade at a time when most businesses stopped. The unemployment rate has increased in the country.
Jumaa referred to the abundant supply of green currency in banks, but he believes that among the factors are those related to the procedures of the banks themselves.
He said: Until now, monetary policy has not been published by the Central Bank of Sudan, especially with regard to foreign exchange and controls on import and export operations. Jumaa added: Everything published by the Central Bank is nothing more than general policies. Therefore, the rise in dollar prices is unjustified.
However, economist Babiker Adam Al-Zein believes in his interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the weak production and the decline in Sudanese exports, along with the decline in the contribution of the productive sectors in the gross domestic product to below the service sectors, are among the important factors in the decline in the value of the Sudanese pound.
He adds that managing the revenues of some productive sectors such as “gold” outside the state’s general budget makes the non-productive sectors control the economy and do not contribute effectively to it due to their ability to evade and enjoy a wide range of tax exemptions and customs duties.
As for the professor of economics at Sudanese universities, Tawfiq Ibrahim, he believes that the state does not have a cash reserve, which made it unable to fulfill its obligations towards citizens and their needs, which calls on the state to entrust the purchase of imports to the private sector, and sets their prices without the knowledge of the state, and thus increases this. The process of rising prices of imported goods, and thus leads to higher levels of inflation.
He adds: This situation increases the demand for the dollar and increases its exchange rate once morest the Sudanese pound, especially when we know that the government has stopped providing hard currency and issuing import guarantee letters. In other words, the private sector must provide its own dollars.
A specialist in economic affairs, who preferred not to be named, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Sudan opened its doors to dirty money (money laundering, sex, drug trade, and human trafficking), which made it vulnerable to fluctuations and fluctuations and the aversion of productive capital from entering it. This money enters and violates the economy, the price of the dollar decreases for a while, and if it is washed and purified and wants to get out, the volume of demand for the dollar will increase, and its exchange rate will rise once morest the Sudanese pound, according to the source.
