The Syrian pound continued to collapse until its black market value reached 680 pounds against the dollar, the lowest level since Syria's independence from French colonialism in 1946, which led to an increase in prices.
Since the end of last year, the exchange rate of the lira began to decline gradually on the black market from 500 lira against the dollar until Tuesday to 650 lira, before reaching Sunday 680 lira, "the lowest rate in history," according to the editor of the electronic economic news "Syria Report" Jihad Yazji.
The central bank of the Syrian regime set the official rate of exchange rate of the dollar at 434 pounds, note that the dollar was equal to 48 Syrian pounds before the outbreak of the revolution in 2011.
The lira's devaluation is not only due to US and European sanctions, it was also affected by the high demand for the dollar in neighboring Lebanon, because Beirut is a major market for the dollar for Syrian importers who use the Lebanese banking system in their trade.
The bulletin pointed to recent news of President Bashar al-Assad's decision to place his cousin, the great investor Rami Makhlouf, under house arrest, which cast a dark shadow on the deteriorating economy.
Local investors say the currency has also been hit by dashed hopes that Assad's gains on the battlefield will encourage wealthy Syrians abroad to seek opportunities in the war-ravaged economy, and the central bank, headed by Hazem Qarfoul, has largely abandoned efforts in recent months to support The value of the lira in order to protect its few foreign reserves.
The collapse of the currency caused high inflation and increased suffering of the Syrians, as opposition sources said that some markets were closed in Hama city.