Syrians struggle to survive amid pound crisis
The Syrian pound has significantly declined against the dollar, which has affected the purchasing power of citizens and led to many stores shutting their doors.
SYRIA — Nine years after the start of protests against the Syrian regime, the Syrian pound recently witnessed an unprecedented decline against the dollar and other foreign currencies amid the deterioration of economic conditions in Syria.
Within one week, the exchange rate of the Syrian pound significantly plunged against the dollar from 500 in late November to about 1,000 pounds in early December on the black market, which led to an increase in the prices of goods and commodities and deepened the suffering of Syrian citizens.
This came in parallel with a high demand for dollars as traders and citizens sought to convert to US dollars whatever sums they had saved. Consequently, some foreign exchange offices shut their doors to avoid forex trading away from the state’s intervention.
Mustafa al-Haj Ahmad, owner of a currency exchange company in northern Syria, told Al-Monitor, “The decline of the Syrian pound is only natural when the Syrian economy is so catastrophic.”
