Sudanese pound falls to record low on black market

Sudan's pound fell to a record low on the black market, traders said on Monday. The dollar was selling for 100 Sudanese pounds in cash transactions compared to 88 pounds a week ago, as the gap with the official rate of 45 to the dollar continues to widen.

The country's ruling sovereign council and cabinet agreed on the budget in December - the first since the toppling of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir, whose final years in power were marked by deep economic woes. The central bank has been printing Sudanese pounds equivalent to $200 million a month to buy and export gold to finance subsidized commodities, mainly fuel and wheat, which has led to "explosive inflation and near-freefall of the exchange rate in the parallel market", the finance ministry said in a 2020 budget statement in December.

Sudan's economy was hit hard when the south of the country seceded in 2011, costing it three-quarters of its oil output, a crucial source of foreign currency.