Sudan Inflation Soars as Economic Crisis Bites

Motorists queue to fuel from the Matthew Petroleum station in Khartoum, Sudan January 6, 2019. (Reuters)
Motorists queue to fuel from the Matthew Petroleum station in Khartoum, Sudan January 6, 2019. (Reuters)
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Sudan Inflation Soars as Economic Crisis Bites

Motorists queue to fuel from the Matthew Petroleum station in Khartoum, Sudan January 6, 2019. (Reuters)
Motorists queue to fuel from the Matthew Petroleum station in Khartoum, Sudan January 6, 2019. (Reuters)

Sudan's annual inflation rate has topped 80 percent, the government said Tuesday, as the country grapples with an acute economic crisis.

"The annual inflation rate reached 81.64 percent in March, compared to 71.36 in February," the Central Bureau of Statistics said in a statement, attributing the rise to price hikes including on food.

Sudanese authorities have hiked bread prices, with one Sudanese pound now buying only a 50-gram loaf of bread, compared to 70 grams before.

Many Sudanese still queue for hours to buy staple foods or gas up their car, reported Reuters.

The country remains in deep economic crisis one year after mass protests led to the military ouster of strongman Omar al-Bashir, ending his 30-year-rule.

The anti-Bashir protests, which erupted late 2018, were triggered by a government decision to triple bread prices before morphing into broader calls for political change.

Sudan's economic woes have been further compounded by the coronavirus outbreak which pushed authorities to impose a lockdown on Khartoum state, including the capital.

Under Bashir, Sudan's economy was dealt severe blows ranging from decades-long US sanctions to the 2011 secession of oil-rich South Sudan.

Despite Washington lifting some sanctions in 2017, Khartoum remains on a US blacklist as a state sponsor of terrorism, stifling investment.

A transitional administration which took power in August has been pushing to boost Sudan's international standing and to boost ties with the US.



Second Boeing Jet Starts Return from China, Tracker Shows

FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737 MAX plane, intended for China's Xiamen Airlines, arrives at King County International Airport after returning from China due to ongoing tariff disputes, in Seattle, Washington, US April 19, 2025. REUTERS/Dan Catchpole/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737 MAX plane, intended for China's Xiamen Airlines, arrives at King County International Airport after returning from China due to ongoing tariff disputes, in Seattle, Washington, US April 19, 2025. REUTERS/Dan Catchpole/File Photo
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Second Boeing Jet Starts Return from China, Tracker Shows

FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737 MAX plane, intended for China's Xiamen Airlines, arrives at King County International Airport after returning from China due to ongoing tariff disputes, in Seattle, Washington, US April 19, 2025. REUTERS/Dan Catchpole/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737 MAX plane, intended for China's Xiamen Airlines, arrives at King County International Airport after returning from China due to ongoing tariff disputes, in Seattle, Washington, US April 19, 2025. REUTERS/Dan Catchpole/File Photo

A second Boeing jet intended for use by a Chinese airline was heading back to the US on Monday, flight tracking data showed, in what appears to be another victim of the tit-for-tat bilateral tariffs launched by President Donald Trump in his global trade offensive.
The 737 MAX 8 landed in the US territory of Guam on Monday, after leaving Boeing's Zhoushan completion center near Shanghai, data from flight tracking website AirNav Radar showed.
Guam is one of the stops such flights make on the 5,000-mile (8,000-km) journey across the Pacific between Boeing's US production hub in Seattle and the Zhoushan completion center, where planes are ferried by Boeing for final work and delivery to a Chinese carrier.
On Sunday a 737 MAX painted with the livery for China's Xiamen Airlines made the return journey from Zhoushan and landed at Seattle's Boeing Field.
It is not clear which party made the decision for the two aircraft to return to the US.
Boeing could find a replacement buyer in Malaysia Airlines, however, which has said it was talking to the manufacturer about acquiring jets that may become available should Chinese airlines stop taking deliveries.
Trump this month raised baseline tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%. In retaliation, China has imposed a 125% tariff on US goods. A Chinese airline taking delivery of a Boeing jet could be crippled by the tariffs, given that a new 737 MAX has a market value of around $55 million, according to IBA, an aviation consultancy.
The plane flew from Seattle to Zhoushan just under a month ago.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The return of the 737 MAX jets, Boeing's best-selling model, is the latest sign of disruption to new aircraft deliveries from a breakdown in the aerospace industry's decades-old duty-free status.
The tariff war and apparent U-turn over deliveries comes as Boeing has been recovering from an almost five-year import freeze on 737 MAX jets and a previous round of trade tensions.
Confusion over changing tariffs could leave many aircraft deliveries in limbo, with some airline CEOs saying they would defer delivery of planes rather than pay duties, analysts say.