On Thursday, the Yemeni riyal continued to decline to the lowest level in its history, after the Central Bank announced measures to regulate the exchange business.
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Two banks that are in the city of Taiz, southwest of Yemen, which is under the authority of the government, reported that the US dollar is being purchased from citizens for 1020 Yemeni riyals, compared to 1015 last week.
They added, preferring not to reveal their identities as they are not authorized to speak to the media, that “the Saudi riyal is purchased from citizens for 268 Yemeni riyals compared to 264 previously.”
The banks stated that the exchange shops refrained from selling foreign currencies to citizens due to the lack of their supply, at a time when citizens accused currency dealers of monopolizing it.
And on Wednesday, the Central Bank of Yemen, affiliated with the government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, approved a new regulation to regulate money exchange in the country at a time when exchange rates are witnessing sharp declines and the parallel market is actively reviving.
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The Yemeni Money Exchange Association – Aden Branch – also announced yesterday the start of a comprehensive strike in protest against the deteriorating economic situation.
In addition to the deterioration in the price of the local currency (the riyal), the exchange business continued on the black market, according to local media.
On Wednesday evening, a report issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced that the Yemeni riyal in government areas has lost more than 36 percent of its value within a year, causing prices to rise.
And on Thursday last week, the association issued a circular on the exchange rates in the local market in light of the appalling deterioration of the local currency against the foreign currency.
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The circular directed to exchange companies and local money transfer networks stated that a price for buying and selling operations of the Saudi riyal was approved at 259 Yemeni riyals.
While it set the price of the dollar at 985 riyals, a price that has not been implemented in the market.
Before the war that began in 2015 in Yemen, one dollar was sold at 215 riyals, but the repercussions of the conflict had negative repercussions on various sectors, including the local currency.
For nearly 7 years, Yemen has been witnessing a war that has killed 233,000 people and has become 80 percent of the population of about 30 million people.
They depend on aid to survive the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.
