Iraq News

Syrian pound at record low on black market: report

The value of the Syrian pound against the dollar has fallen sharply to its lowest rate in history, an economic publication said Tuesday (September 3rd).

On the black market on Tuesday, the pound was trading at 650 against the dollar, AFP reported.

It is "the lowest in history", said Jihad Yazigi, the editor-in-chief of the Syria Report economic publication.

"The drop is significant" from 500 Syrian pounds to the dollar at the end of last year, he said.

At the start of the war, the rate stood at around 48 pounds per dollar.

Syria's eight-year civil war has battered the country's economy, and depleted its foreign reserves.

Authorities estimate that since 2011, Syria's key oil and gas sector has suffered some $74 billion in losses.

The UN estimates the conflict has caused some $400 billion in war-related destruction.

The war has also killed 370,000 people and displaced millions since starting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

In an annual report released Wednesday by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Damascus ranked last for "liveability" in an evaluation of 140 cities worldwide.

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