DAMASCUS, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian pound has lost 40 percent of its value over the past two months, the pro-government al-Watan newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The pound is sold in the black market at over 900 for one dollar, a rapid slide from 500-600 pound against one dollar that is taking place on a daily basis, without solid solutions or steps to contain the worsening economic situation.
Al-Watan said the supply and demand movement is at its lowest, and the actual transactions are weak.
The sellers of the U.S. dollar anticipate the price to go higher, while the buyers are afraid to buy the dollar at a high price as it could go down and they might lose, which has caused the transactions to be very weak, the paper said.
This depreciation, which is the lowest since the Syrian war broke out in 2011, has negatively rebounded on the market and the purchasing process as all prices have gone up and caused a widescale discontent among the people.
Observers believe the devaluation of the Syrian pound is generally caused by the tightened Western sanctions on the country, but the recent unprecedented hike results from the situation in neighboring Lebanon.
