Sudan Increases Fuel Prices after Subsidies Removed

People get their car filled at a petrol station in Khartoum, Sudan. November 4, 2016. (Reuters)
People get their car filled at a petrol station in Khartoum, Sudan. November 4, 2016. (Reuters)
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Sudan Increases Fuel Prices after Subsidies Removed

People get their car filled at a petrol station in Khartoum, Sudan. November 4, 2016. (Reuters)
People get their car filled at a petrol station in Khartoum, Sudan. November 4, 2016. (Reuters)

Sudan has increased fuel prices for the first time since subsidies were removed, energy minister Jadein Ali Obeid said on Thursday.

The price of gasoline went up from 290 Sudanese pounds per liter to 320 pounds, while the price of diesel went up to 305 pounds per liter from 285, according to a Reuters witness.

Sudan has been implementing aggressive IMF-monitored reforms in the hopes of turning around its economy and attracting debt relief and renewed financing.

The reforms have been painful and annual inflation climbed to 363 percent in April.

Sudanese officials and the IMF have said the reforms, which included a sharp currency devaluation, would cause prices to rise and add to pressure on citizens.



Biden Pledges Record $4 bln US Contribution to World Bank Fund for Poorest Countries

The World Bank logo. (File/Asharq Al-Awsat Ar)
The World Bank logo. (File/Asharq Al-Awsat Ar)
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Biden Pledges Record $4 bln US Contribution to World Bank Fund for Poorest Countries

The World Bank logo. (File/Asharq Al-Awsat Ar)
The World Bank logo. (File/Asharq Al-Awsat Ar)

US President Joe Biden has pledged a $4 billion US contribution to the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) fund for the world's poorest countries, two sources with knowledge of the commitment said on Monday, Reuters reported.

Biden announced the US pledge during a closed session during the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The amount is a record and substantially exceeds the $3.5 billion that Washington committed in the previous IDA replenishment round in December 2021.