Syrian Pound Falls to Near 10,000 Against Dollar On Black Market

Syrian pounds are pictured inside an exchange currency shop in Azaz, Syria February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Syrian pounds are pictured inside an exchange currency shop in Azaz, Syria February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
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Syrian Pound Falls to Near 10,000 Against Dollar On Black Market

Syrian pounds are pictured inside an exchange currency shop in Azaz, Syria February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Syrian pounds are pictured inside an exchange currency shop in Azaz, Syria February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

The value of the Syrian pound plunged Monday to nearly 10,000 against the dollar on the black market, websites monitoring the exchange rate said, following years of conflict and crippling sanctions.

The embattled currency stood at just 47 pounds to the dollar before Syria's civil war broke out in 2011. The conflict has since killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and battered the country's infrastructure and industry.

The pound hit a new record low of 9,750 to the dollar Monday, according to the unofficial exchange rate monitoring sites which traders use to determine the price of goods, AFP reported.

The official exchange rate approved by the central bank is 6,532 pounds to the dollar.

Damascus has blamed the country's economic woes on Western sanctions and the knock-on effects of an economic collapse in neighbouring Lebanon that has stemmed the flow of dollars into government-held areas.

The new plunge comes in the wake of Syria's recent return to the Arab fold after years of isolation.

"The war has not ended yet, and the reasons for the drop in the pound's value have not changed," said economist Ammar Yussef, pointing to "ongoing sanctions blocking exports".

"The Arab opening towards Damascus hasn't started to have an impact yet, particularly as it hasn't been accompanied by concrete economic steps," he added.

The pound's collapse -- from 5,000 to the dollar in October -- has driven up the price of basic goods and aggravated hardship in a war-ravaged country hit by crippling shortages of fuel and electricity.

An average monthly salary of 130,000 pounds, according to figures reported in Syrian media, is now worth little over $13.

The United Nations says some 90 percent of the population is poor, while the UN World Food Program estimates that more than 12 million people in the country are food insecure.



Israeli Strikes Kill 17 People In Gaza, Nearly all of Them Women or Kids

Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
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Israeli Strikes Kill 17 People In Gaza, Nearly all of Them Women or Kids

Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza killed at least 17 people late Tuesday, nearly all of them women or children, the territory’s Health Ministry and hospital officials said.
Five kids were killed as they sheltered together in the same tent, said Ahmed al-Farra, director of the children's ward at nearby Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Their bodies were among the eight children and five women brought to the hospital after strikes on tents, homes and a vehicle. Two bodies were unidentifiable, The Associated Press said.
The Israeli military said it targeted militants who had taken part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, without providing evidence. Israel said it took steps to lessen the risk of hurting civilians and blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties.
The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is raging with no end in sight, although there has reportedly been recent progress in long-running talks aimed at a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Some Palestinians in the Gaza Strip still have hope the war will end soon. Issam Saqr, a displaced man from Khan Younis, told The Associated Press he hopes the ceasefire “will happen today — before tomorrow!”