Sudanese Pound In Freefall As War Splits the Economy In Two
AFRICAGEOPOLITICS
Sudan - The Sudanese pound has lost nearly half its black-market value in army-held territory since summer, sliding to roughly 7,500–8,000 pounds per dollar from 4,100 in May and about 600 before the war began.
Basic goods are becoming unaffordable: cooking oil jumped from 17,000 to 23,000 pounds in a single week, and shop sales are down 70% from normal levels. A school administrator's monthly salary, worth roughly $800 before the war, now converts to about $70. Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker head Suliman Baldo points to the country's economic split as the underlying cause — army-aligned authorities have lost access to gold, livestock, oilseed and gum arabic exports concentrated in Rapid Support Forces territory, while what production remains is increasingly diverted to buying weapons rather than funding the state.
Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim's government has offered no clear plan to reverse the slide, and analysts say stability is unlikely without addressing the underlying divide in the economy. The currency collapse deepens an already severe humanitarian crisis in a country in its fourth year of war.