Syria pound appreciates amid economic concerns

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DAMASCUS, Nov. 3 -- The exchange rate of the Syrian pound strengthened remarkably against the U.S. dollar in the past ten days, signalling slight improvement of the overall political and economic climate in the country.

The Syrian pound closed in the black market on Sunday at 146 pounds against the dollar, a drop exceeding 30 pounds in ten days.

Observers describe the pound's recovery as positive and attribute it to the ability of the Central Bank to control the market, the progress the Syrian army has achieved on the ground, and speculators' fear of any sudden collapse of the dollar.

Two months ago, the dollar hiked significantly and was sold at more than 300 pounds, prompting the Syrian government to intervene rapidly, arresting some manipulators and selling big amounts of hard currency for non-commercial purposes to meet the market's needs.

Nonetheless, some Syrians are still concerned about the possible short-lived improvement in the pound, citing the skyrocketing commodity prices, dried-up investment, faltering economy, huge losses of public and private sectors, as well as uncertainties about reaching a political solution to the nearly three-year-long crisis.

Syrian Industry Minister Kamal el-Deen Taemeh said that the losses of the industrial sector have amounted to 336 billion pounds, or 2.2 billion dollars, since the start of the Syrian crisis, adding the losses of the private and public sector totaled at 230 billion and 106 billion pounds respectively.

Oil and tourism industries are the main lifelines for the Syrian economy. According to Syrian Oil Ministry, the oil production plummeted from 400,000 barrels to 20,000 barrels per day, with the losses of direct production of oil and gas reaching 69.4 billion pounds.

According to a recent report issued by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the GDP of Syria has dropped by about 31.4 percent in 2012, noting that the long-standing conflict has had enormous impact on the country's economy, which needs years to reach the level it was in 2010.

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