The Syrian pound continued its fall against foreign currencies, with the exchange rate crossing the mark of 600 pounds against the US dollar.
According to the Lira Today website on Sunday, the exchange rate of the Syrian pound fell against the dollar to 620 pounds to sell and 618 to buy.
The Syrian pound has declined since June, breaking the 570 barriers and continuing to fall until today.
Commenting on the decline of the pound to its lowest levels against the dollar, former Economy Minister Nidal al-Shaer commented on Facebook under the title “All those who toy with the currency’s price—their challenge will fail.”
Shaer said: “The currency isn’t a person … the currency is the product of a group of people … anyone who toys with it will lose … have any of you noticed that the Americans have never toyed with our currency? Only once when they withdrew from the gold standard in 1970. It was an adventure and it succeeded… Continuing to toy with it means continuing to collapse.”
Shaer added: “The Syrian currency has fallen by about 40 percent in a single year.. the ailing Syrian standard of living has fallen by this amount … and no central bank or government or organization will be able to correct this track.”
The former minister said that, “There is no solution except for the return of those who left the country … their return, with all their productive and human capacities and their various tools for which they have been known for years.” He added, “There is one condition and it may be complicated, but according to the constitution it is a necessity to be met by those who look after the country’s interests… and that is the safe, sound and smooth return, without fear, of those who departed, because if that happens, it will fix a lot.”
Since 2011, the Syrian pound has declined continuously in gradual stages, interspersed with short periods of improvement and then quickly retreating again. The core of its collapse was in 2016, when the price of the pound against the dollar fell to 645 pounds.”
At the end of last week, the pound reached 607 against the dollar, amid fear that its value would collapse again to unprecedented levels.
Previously, the Economy Minister in the Assad regime government, Samer al-Khalil, has said that the essential reasons for the Syrian pound’s collapse against foreign currencies were not economic, but speculation and the presence of favorable conditions for speculators.
The Minister said that traders heading to the black market to buy dollars to fund their imports had contributed to the increase in demand for the dollar, resulting in an increase in the exchange rate.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
