Former Minister of Economy in the Assad regime’s government, Lamia Assi, said, “what is happening now concerning the exchange rate in Syria is like a partially managed float.” This coincided with the renewed deterioration of the Syrian currency against the basket of currencies, as it exceeded the price of 4,000 Syrian pounds per USD.
In a Facebook post, Assi said the central bank’s monetary policies for years, despite mistakes, are determined efforts to stabilize the exchange rate and avoid chaos in Syria’s domestic markets.
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She added that, in general, it is not possible to float the local currency exchange rate in crises and cases of economic confusion. She gave the example of Malaysia, which went through a financial crisis in 1997 and 1998, fixed its currency against the dollar until 2005.
She said the exchange rate chaos is “devastating to all forms of economic activity, due to the immoral practices and speculation on the Syrian pound,” according to what she reported in the publication entitled: In response to calls for discussion on the liberalization of the Syrian pound’s exchange rate.
Assi criticized the economic and living conditions in the areas of regime control. She said that the situation is miserable and difficult. She then stated that monopolies or “tycoons” are behind most of the decisions to raise prices. Assi revealed the magnitude of the economic situation’s deterioration, the deterioration of living conditions, and the high prices in the areas of regime control.
The local Iqtisad website pointed out that the dollar rebounded at the expense of the Syrian pound. On Monday, it recorded an unprecedented new threshold, with the exchange rate reaching 4,050 Syrian pounds per USD, after recording the highest selling price of the U.S. dollar in the capital Damascus on March 23rd, 2021.
The collapse in the value of the Syrian pound is accompanied by a significant rise in the prices of goods and food, particularly in areas of regime control. The Central Bank continues to set the price of 2,814 pounds per dollar as an official rate approved in most transactions, while the disbursement of the remittance dollar is set at 2,800 Syrian pounds and the payment of the compulsory service allowance at 2,525 Syrian pounds.
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.
