A man carrying a bag of banknotes enters the Central Bank of Syria, Damascus, Dec. 16, 2024. (Credit: Ammar Awad/Reuters)
The Syrian pound has strengthened against the U.S. dollar by at least 20% over the past two days amid an influx of Syrians from neighboring Lebanon and Jordan and an end to strict controls on trade in foreign currencies after the fall of the Assad government.
Damascus currency traders cited exchange rates between 12,500 and 10,0000 on Saturday, a wide spread of between 20% and 50% stronger than the previous rate of 15,000, with high volatility in the market.
The day before the fall of al-Assad to the coalition of armed groups led by the Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham on Dec. 7, the exchange rate on the black market had soared, reaching 30,000 pounds for one dollar, double what it had been in recent months.
The traders cited the return of thousands of Syrians who had sought refugee abroad during the country's 13-year war and the open use of U.S. dollars and Turkish currency in markets as having contributed to the change.
Using foreign currencies for everyday trade could previously land Syrians in jail, and many feared even uttering the word "dollar" in public.
'Political and economic factors'
Political and economic factors “In every country in the world, the local currency collapses with the fall of a regime. Here in Syria, it seems to be the opposite,” said Raghid Mansour, a jewelry shop owner in a Damascus souk. “It’s not yet a fixed price, but the pound is gradually regaining its value,” added the 74-year-old merchant.
For Qoussai Ibrahim, a professor at the Faculty of Economics at Damascus University, the improvement in the pound’s exchange rate is due to both “political and economic” factors. “On one side, there’s an influx of dollars” from areas previously held by rebels, “and also thanks to all the foreign journalists and employees of international organizations” coming to Syria, he explained.
In front of the famous Bekdach ice cream shop in Damascus, where dozens of people were queuing, prices were displayed in Syrian pounds, Turkish lira, and dollars.
More than 90% of Syrians live under the poverty line, according to U.N. agencies.
The country's oil industry, manufacturing, tourism and other key sectors have been choked by years of fighting and large segments of the population are employed by a decrepit public sector where monthly wages average around 300,000 Syrian pounds.
Syria's new government, picked by rebels who took Damascus on Sunday in a lightning offensive that toppled 50 years of Assad family rule, say they will raise wages and prioritize improving services.
