The Syrian pound has depreciated sharply against the dollar as the country is going through an economic and financial crisis. (Credit: AFP archive photo)
Syria's pound hit a new low against the dollar on the black market Tuesday, according to websites monitoring the exchange rate, in the latest blow to the country's war-battered economy.
The exchange rate reached more than 5,000 Syrian pounds to the US dollar for the first time since the start of the conflict more than a decade ago, the websites said.
Syria's official exchange rate has stood at around 3,015 pounds to the greenback since September — compared to 47 pounds to the dollar before the war.
The new black market rate means the currency has lost nearly 99 percent of its value since the start of the conflict.
Syria's economy is reeling from the effects of a financial crisis in neighboring Lebanon that has stemmed the flow of dollars into government-held areas. The collapse of the pound has driven up the price of goods and aggravated hardship.
The vast majority of Syria's population lives below the poverty line, according to the United Nation. An estimated 12.4 million people — about 60 percent of Syria's population — suffer from food insecurity, according to the UN World Food Program.
Syria's civil war has killed nearly half a million people and forced around half of the country's pre-war population from their homes.