CBS

On August 2, the exchange rate of the Syrian pound fell to SYP 4,210 against the US dollar on the black market – its lowest rate since March 2021.

Syria’s gross domestic product declined in 2020 for the first time in four years, according to data released by the Syrian government.

The World Bank released on June 09 its first comprehensive report in years on the state of the Syrian economy. The report uses innovative remote-based data to measure some key indicators, such as nighttime lights and nighttime lights-based output estimates, shipping-position data, and population and conflict maps. Some of the findings raise questions, however, while the report lacks any political economy dimension. Unsurprisingly, the forecasts for the coming years are gloomy.

For the first time in some ten years, the government has published data on the country’s current account balance, releasing information on items such as its oil trade balance, humanitarian aid, foreign grants, and remittances.

In 2014, Russia granted Syria rare financial aid worth hundreds of millions of euros for the purpose of paying the salaries of state employees, including military staff. It is the first known grant made by Moscow to Damascus since the start of the 2011 conflict.

The Central Bank of Syria has issued two decisions to raise the minimum interest rate on term deposits and investment certificates and to increase the exchange rate of the US dollar for incoming remittances.