South Sudan has run out of foreign exchange reserves and can no longer control the depreciation of its currency, according to Reuters news.
The second deputy governor of South Sudan’s central bank, Daniel Kech Pouch said in a press conference on Wednesday that foreign exchange reserves had been affected by drop in oil revenues.
Pouch said the rate for the pound from the central bank was 165 per dollar, while from commercial banks it was at around 190 and 400 in the black-market.
South Sudan mainly depends on oil revenues. Oil production recently dropped to about 180,000 barrels a day, according to ministry of petroleum, placing the country’s economy on a knife-edge.
South Sudan’s central bank allowed rate of exchanging pounds against dollar to float with hope to strengthen it. But the method proved futile as the local currency steadily continues to lose its value against the dollars. Pouch put the skyrocketing inflation in the country at 35%.