The Central Bank of Syria has set the official exchange rate of the lira against the dollar at 1250 pounds instead of 700 pounds, in a step that coincided with the start of the application of new US sanctions on the country and its collaborators amid a stifling economic crisis.
And the bank specified in a statement published on its Facebook page, "the exchange rate of the Syrian pound against the US dollar for the purpose of financing imports at 1,265 Syrian pounds and the purchase price of remittances received from abroad at 1,250 pounds."
The official price approved since March was fixed at 700 liras.
The amendment seeks, according to the statement, to "reach a balance price" with the aim of "bridging the gap between the market price and the remittance price ... amid the interim conditions the national economy is going through."
The lira witnessed an unprecedented deterioration in its value this month, with the exchange rate touching the threshold of three thousand against the dollar in the parallel market, before improving slightly. Wednesday's exchange rate was around 2,700 liras, according to traders.
Analysts have linked this deterioration at that time to the near implementation of the 'Caesar Law' which came into effect on Wednesday, amid growing fears in the street of its possible repercussions on the living conditions and its repercussions on the exhausted economy.