Political and security situation behind rise in US dollar price, says Sudan’s central bank
May 26, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan’s central bank has attributed the rise of the United States dollar against Sudanese pound in the black market to the political and security situation in the country. A worker counts U.S. dollar bills, Sudan says dollar prince will stabilise soon (Reuters) The deputy governor of the Bank of Sudan, Badr Al-Din Mahmoud, said in statements on Sunday that rise in dollar price is a result of speculations among black market traders, describing it as temporary. He added that prices will stabilise soon and stressed that dollar price would go below 5 pounds SDG following resumption of South Sudanese oil exports, pointing to the lack of a great demand for foreign exchange in the country. Mahmoud further affirmed that foreign exchange reserves are in good standing, referring to the stability in prices of consumption goods. But economists expressed concern over fluctuations of dollar price in the black market. The black market rate yesterday was 6.8 SDG, while the official exchange rate is around 4.4 SDG. A black market trader in downtown Khartoum attributed the rise of dollar price to limited buying and selling transactions, noting that the dollar market is stagnant. Another trader, who preferred to stay anonymous, said the only way to curb rise in dollar price is to increase supply, adding that scarcity is the cause of rising price of the dollar and other foreign currencies. Khartoum is under pressure to preserve the eroding value of its currency in the wake of the secession of the oil-rich South Sudan in July 2011. Oil was not only the main source for state revenues but also for dollars needed to fund imports. Economists say because banks and Forex bureaus are unable to supply enough dollars, the black market rate is seen as the benchmark for the real market value of the pound. Last March Sudanese authorities started rounding up currency traders after the central bank announced that it will prosecute anyone dealing in the black market. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14oqCJcZ3uxV27gPVgh3M0g%2BWrQ1E%3D7FEyEzvTqo6xs%2B0LQ%40mail.gmail.com?hl=en-US. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
