Special
The exchange rate of the Syrian pound recorded a significant decline against the dollar in the parallel market at the end of the week's trading, as it closed at 12350 pounds to the dollar, compared to 11970 pounds on Tuesday, which is the first trading day after the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
The decline reflects a 3.17% depreciation of the lira in just three days, a clear sign of the continued pressures the local currency faces amid a turbulent economic environment.
According to a study conducted by "Syrian News", this decline came as a result of the overlap of several economic and procedural factors that appeared clearly during the past days, as the decision of the Ministry of Finance to impose a tax advance of 2% on importers led to an increase in import costs, which prompted a large segment of traders to enhance their demand for dollars to cover the additional burdens, which was directly reflected on the movement of the parallel market.
Another decision by the ministry to oblige exporters to present a tax clearance before completing their transactions contributed to increasing the pressure on the liquidity available to them, and prompted some of them to resort to the black market to secure their financial obligations, which increased the demand for foreign currencies.
In parallel, the protests carried out by the owners of gas stations in front of the Ministry of Energy in Damascus increased the uncertainty in the market, especially after the "Syrian Petroleum" was forced to amend the payment mechanism and allow the stations to pay the value of oil derivatives in Syrian pounds instead of dollars.
Salary increase decrees issued during the Eid holiday also played an additional role in putting pressure on the exchange rate, as they led to the expansion of the monetary mass traded in the pound without a parallel increase in the production or supply of foreign currencies, which contributed to strengthening the upward trend of the dollar in the parallel market.
The study concluded that these developments combined created a turbulent financial environment that pushed the lira to record a further decline by the end of the week, amid expectations that volatility will continue unless clear measures are taken to calm the market and control the movement of foreign currency demand.