Syria floats new bank note amid soaring inflation
PTI, Jan 24, 2021, 8:02 PM IST
Damascus: A new, 5,000 Syrian Lira banknote goes into circulation Sunday, the largest denomination in the country reeling from a decade of conflict and a crippling economic crisis.
Syria’s currency has been on a downward spiral since the conflict began in 2011. Trading that year at 47 liras to the dollar, it’s now officially up to trading at 1,250 liras to the dollar.
On the black market, the dollar is trading at nearly double the official value.
The currency crash has sent prices of food and basic goods soaring.
Syria’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported an average inflation rate of 200% in 2020 compared to 2019, with goods inflation reaching 300%. The prices of key food items, such as lentils and vegetable oil, have increased by around 15%.
The economic hardship has been made worse by the pandemic restrictions, increased Western sanctions on the Syrian government and its allies for their role in the war, and years of corruption and mismanagement.
The United Nations estimates that nearly 80% of Syrians live under the poverty line.
In recent months, fuel and wheat have been in short supply, driving the government to reduce subsidies and ration resources.
The Central Bank said that the new banknote was issued “to meet the need of the market, facilitate cash transactions and reduce their costs.”
The newly-designed banknote bears on one side a photo of a soldier saluting the Syrian flag.
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
COP29: India rejects new USD 300 billion climate finance deal
Royal tour of India in offing for King Charles, Queen Camilla: Report
Indian-American leaders applaud PM Modi for inclusive growth in India
COP29: Civil society protests climate finance proposal, calls for ‘no deal’ over ‘bad deal’
Bomb disposal squad tackles ‘security incident’ at UK’s Gatwick Airport
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
Ranbir on criticism for doing ‘Sanju’, ‘Animal’: Important to dabble in different genres, characters
Youth Congress demands Adani’s arrest over USD 250 mn bribery charge
Study links overthinking to ‘constant communication’ between brain’s fear-centre, social behaviour
Sometimes I like to take backseat and do films where pressure is not on me: Taapsee Pannu
Puttur: Abandoning labourer’s body — three, including prime accused, arrested
Thanks for visiting Udayavani
You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.