Currency slump | Economy shrinks as dollar approaches 3,000 SYL, and Turkish lira as alternative in rural Aleppo
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has monitored today a rapid collapse of the Syrian pound against the U.S. dollar. The exchange rate recorded this morning 2,400 Syrian pounds against the dollar, while the exchange rate recorded 2,900 Syrian pounds against the U.S. dollar in the evening, i.e. the exchange rate of the dollar has increased to 500 Syrian pounds in hours.
On the other hand, markets have seen a dramatic rise in the prices of all consumer good items, lack of buying and selling, as well as the closure of most shops as prices doubled during the past hours.
Meanwhile, the city council of Azaz and countryside appealed to merchants and owners of establishments, factories, workshops and others, to deal with the Turkish lira due to the accelerating decline in Syrian pound, thereby harming workers and citizens.
The Jarablus’ Chamber of Industry and Commerce also called on all traders, factory owners and professions to deal with Turkish lira instead of the Syrian pound, in order to recover the industrial and commercial sector in the areas controlled by Turkish-backed factions in a short time, after a standstill period.
Yesterday, large shops and fuel stations in most of Syria’s provinces were partly closed after the Syrian pound hit a new record low in the past hours. The Syrian pound against the US dollar approached 2,500 SYL, which resulted in increasing the prices of all goods to a unaffordable level by many people, in addition to the lack of many products and supplies.
In regime-held areas, some merchants in Latakia, Homs, Hama, Damascus, Daraa and Al-Suwaidaa have closed their shops and upped the prices to unprecedented levels, as the value of the Syrian pound keeps falling.
In connection to this, the ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection has issued a circular obligating the wholesale dealers and retailers in Al-Hal markets in all provinces to keep registering the movement of buying and selling of their stuffs and to uphold the invoicing.