2 days ago
Sudanese pound hits record low against USD: currency traders
KHARTOUM, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese pound has fallen to a record low, with the U.S. dollar trading at 2,760 pounds in the parallel market, according to currency traders on Wednesday.
The official exchange rate set by the Central Bank of Sudan stands at 2,100 pounds per dollar.
Foreign exchange traders described the current spike in foreign currency demand as "an all-time high that underscores the deep economic toll of the ongoing war."
Sudanese economic expert Ayoub Abdul Hafeez, speaking to Xinhua, said that the pound's decline is likely to continue, driven by the ongoing civil conflict, unstable economic policies, falling remittances, and weakened exports.
Since the outbreak of the conflict, Sudan's exchange rates have seen extreme volatility, with the dollar soaring from 560 to a record high, an increase of more than 391 percent in just over two years.
On Tuesday, the World Bank issued a report on Sudan, revealing that the Sudanese economy contracted by an additional 13.5 percent in 2024, after shrinking by nearly one-third in 2023.
It also pointed out that extreme poverty, defined as living on less than 2.15 dollars per day, rose to 71 percent of the population, more than doubling from 33 percent in 2022. Unemployment also surged, reaching 47 percent, according to the report.
The report concluded that Sudan's economy is unlikely to return to pre-war levels before at least 2031 and stressed that any sustainable recovery would depend on ending the conflict and implementing broad structural reforms.
Sudan remains gripped by the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which erupted in April 2023. The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, both internally and across borders, deepening the country's humanitarian crisis.
