(Zaman Al Wals)- The Syrian pound on Tuesday fell to a new record low on the black market, following Bashar al-Assad's warning of economic challenges plunge most of the Syrian people into poverty.
Dealers said it cost as much as 1350 Syrian pounds in the capital to buy one dollar on the street on Tuesday while it cost as much as 1400 pounds in opposition-held areas.
Al-Assad warned on Monday of a "catastrophe" in war-battered Syria if the easing of lockdown measures against coronavirus is mishandled.
Assad said Syria was in a "transitional phase" from the lockdown but warned of grave economic challenges that would outlast confinement.
Syria is in the thick of a grinding economic crisis that has seen its pound hit record lows against the dollar, while inflation has soared, plunging most of the population into poverty.
"In tandem with the health challenge, the other challenge during the coronavirus pandemic and even before is the economic challenge," Assad said.
With the pandemic, "citizens from different segments of society have been forced to choose between hunger and poverty... or illness".
International sanctions against the Syrian regime, damage to the country’s industry from the fighting, and panicked Syrians’ sending their money abroad pushed the currency down sharply during the conflict.
Dealers said although the pound briefly hit a 660 to the dollar benchmark in 2016, this was the first time it has hovered around near these record low levels for days.
The pound had enjoyed almost two years of relative stability after Moscow alongside Iranian-backed militias turned the tide in favor of Assad by pushing rebels from large swathes of territory in western and eastern Syria, according to Reuters.
The pound had traded at 47 to the dollar before protests against the Assad regime erupted in March 2011.
(Eqtsad, Agencies)
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