Sudanese Pound Accelerates Collapse, Prices Hike

The Sudanese pound is experiencing an unprecedented decline against foreign currencies, impacting the prices of basic commodities in the markets, which have skyrocketed.

 

 

The deterioration of the national currency adds a new burden to millions of families whose resilience has been weakened after losing their resources due to the conflict that has devastated livelihoods in rural and urban areas.

 

 

Parallel market traders told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday that “the value of the local currency has suddenly deteriorated over the past few days, amid a shortage of supply among traders and an increase in demand.” They noted that one dollar has reached 3,345 Sudanese pounds, down from around 2,600 pounds at the beginning of this month.

 

 

They reported that the Emirati dirham was trading at 930 pounds, while the Saudi riyal reached 860 pounds.

 

 

According to Sudan Tribune’s monitoring, currencies are trading against the pound in the administrative capital, Port Sudan, at higher rates than in other Sudanese states.

 

 

It is noteworthy that currency exchange rates in official bank transactions also witnessed a significant increase, with the dollar reaching 2,400 Egyptian pounds, the Saudi riyal reaching 648 Egyptian pounds, and the Emirati dirham reaching 666 Egyptian pounds.

 

 

Markets witnessed a significant increase in commodity prices, particularly sugar and sorghum. The price of a 50-kilogram bag of sugar in the markets of Al-Gadarif reached approximately 180,000, up from 130,000 Egyptian pounds a few days ago.

 

 

Money transfer offices via banking applications, run by Sudanese in Egypt, suspended their transactions due to the depreciation of the Egyptian pound against the Egyptian currency, after the price rose to 66 Egyptian pounds per Sudanese pound.

 

 

Most Sudanese refugees abroad, especially in Egypt, which hosts approximately 1.5 million refugees, rely on remittances from family members inside the country or abroad, making it difficult for them to pay rent and the costs of education and medical treatment.

 

 

Some Sudanese traders in Uganda, which hosts more than 86,000 refugees, refused to exchange pounds for shillings, insisting on trading only in dollars.

 

 

Citizens complained about the impact of the pound’s decline on their purchasing power, given the unaffordable rise in prices of all food items.