The Central Bank of Syria (CBS) held a new session on Tuesday as part of its ongoing intervention to stabilize currency exchange rates and the currency market.
CBS Governor Adib Mayyaleh said that intervention will continue through both conventional methods which involve supplying the private sector’s foreign currency needs for funding imports, along with unconventional methods that have been employed since last week to curb speculation.
He said that the CBS is coordinating on daily basis with the Economy and Foreign Trade Ministry to ensure that all import licenses are funded, and that it continues to sell large sums of foreign currency on a daily basis, even on weekends, also noting that intervention efforts yielded positive results as the price of the US dollar dropped by 7 Syrian Pounds on Monday.
Mayyaleh asked businessmen to resort to licensed banks to procure their funding needs as they offer foreign currency at the price set by the CBS which is lower than prices in other markets, adding that resorting to other avenues for procuring foreign currency encourages the black market and speculators which harms the SP exchange rate and its stability.
"Not to mention that such dealings open up risks of being prosecuted for breaking the law," he said.
Mayyaleh concluded by saying that the CBS will continue its intervention efforts throughout the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday using special methods and channels to make sure that speculators cannot manipulate and influence exchange rates which in turn affects the prices of goods in the market.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
......
