The Syrian pound rises against the dollar a week after the fall of Assad

Sky News Arabia

The exchange rate of the Syrian pound against the dollar improved a week after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and his flight from Syria, according to what money changers and merchants reported to Agence France-Presse, today, Monday, in light of the entry of foreign currency into the country and the beginning of trading in it openly in the markets.

As the opposition factions approached Damascus, on the eve of the overthrow of Assad, the exchange rate in the parallel market reached a record level of thirty thousand liras against the dollar, after it had been stable for months at 15 thousand liras.

On Monday, the exchange rate in Damascus ranged between ten and twelve thousand, according to a money changer, a jewelry merchant, and a receptionist at a prominent hotel. A Lebanese taxi driver told Agence France-Presse that he sold the dollar at a price of nine thousand Syrian pounds before crossing the border from Lebanon to Syria.

Ragheed Mansour (74 years old), the owner of a jewelry store in Al-Harika Market in Damascus, told AFP, “In all countries of the world, the currency collapses when the regime falls, but the scene seemed different in Syria.”

He continued, “There is no fixed price, but the lira is gradually improving.”

Qusay Ibrahim, a professor at the Faculty of Economics at Damascus University, attributed the improvement of the lira to “political and economic reasons at the same time.” He explained to Agence France-Presse, “The economic reasons are linked to the entry of large amounts of dollars from Idlib and former opposition areas on the one hand, and from media teams and workers in foreign organizations on the other hand,” according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.

On the front of Bakdash store, one of the most famous Arabic ice cream shops in Damascus, a white sheet of paper was placed on which prices were handwritten in Syrian and Turkish currencies and dollars, while dozens of people were arriving to buy.

Until recently, Syrian law criminalized dealing in anything other than the lira and imposed harsh fines and penalties of up to seven years in prison for anyone who dealt in dollars or foreign currencies.

Dozens of merchants and businessmen were arrested under the pretext of “dealing in a currency other than the lira,” including well-known names and veteran merchants.

The Syrians avoided saying the word “dollar” in their meetings or on the phones, and used other words for fear of being arrested.

Before the outbreak of the conflict in 2011, the dollar was worth about fifty liras, before the value of the local currency gradually collapsed and lost more than ninety percent of its value.

When the opposition factions, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, began their attack on regime-controlled areas in northern Syria, merchants and capitalists rushed to buy dollars and gold, which led to the price of the lira falling to record levels.