Al-Alimi's statements about stopping oil exports ignite the exchange market
English - Wednesday 21 December 2022 الساعة 03:30 pm
Mocha, NewsYemen, exclusive:
The exchange market witnessed a new decline in the value of the Yemeni riyal against foreign currencies, affected by statements made by the President of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, about the cessation of oil exports and the government's inability to pay the salaries of employees.
The exchange rate of the Saudi riyal exceeded the barrier of 320 riyals, while the value of one dollar reached 1210 riyals, an increase of 40 riyals over the exchange rate, before Al-Alimi’s statements to Al-Arabiya channel on Monday evening.
The director of an exchange company confirmed to NewsYemen that, following the interview of the President of the Presidential Leadership Council with Al-Hadath TV, the exchange market flared up, exceeding the ceiling that was preventing it from crossing the barrier of 320 for the Saudi riyal and 1180 for the dollar.
Al-Alimi said, on Monday evening, that the government will, starting this month, face problems in the matter of paying salaries due to the terrorist Houthi militia’s attacks on the oil ports, which caused the halt in oil exports after dumping the pump, which will cost the state more than fifty million dollars to repair in a period of no less than six months.
The Central Bank of Yemen had achieved a slight success in achieving stability in the exchange rate of the local currency during the year 2022, after a wave of rise and instability in the value of the riyal against foreign currencies.
The exchange rate of the riyal against foreign currencies stabilized during the year 2022 at a stable level, with a slight up and down margin that did not exceed 5% of the total value of the riyal over the months of the year, as the price of the dollar settled between 1000 and 1200 dollars, and the Saudi riyal at 300 Yemeni riyals.
The price of the dollar against the Yemeni riyal reached unprecedented levels in the year 2021, exceeding the barrier of 1,700 Yemeni riyals per one dollar and 400 riyals per Saudi riyal, a price that the exchange market in the country had not previously witnessed.
And the Central Bank took a decision to open continuous auctions in which the dollar is offered for sale in front of local banks to provide foreign currencies for banks and their dealers and suppliers, in addition to reducing the volume of money supply of the local currency in the market to reduce the activity of speculators in the parallel exchange market.
According to the announced data of the Central Bank, the total number of auctions that the bank announces on a weekly basis has sometimes exceeded one billion dollars, with 48 auctions.
Banking sources indicated that the exchange market will rise again after the cessation of oil exports as a result of the attacks launched by the Houthi militia on oil ports and export facilities in Hadhramaut and Shabwa governorates.
