Emergency meeting held in Yemen to address sharp depreciation of currency

Aden (Yemen), Oct 16 (IANS) Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak has held an emergency meeting in the southern port city of Aden to stabilise the national currency after a sharp depreciation of the Yemeni riyal in government-controlled provinces.

The meeting, attended by Central Bank Governor Ahmed Ghaleb and Finance Minister Salem bin Buraik, focused on implementing fiscal and monetary reforms to stabilise the national currency and increase public revenues, according to the state-run Saba news agency on Tuesday.

Banking sources in Yemen's government-controlled provinces, including Aden, Taiz, and Marib, told Xinhua news agency that the exchange rate has exceeded 2,000 Yemeni riyals per US Dollar, the lowest level since the civil war began in late 2014 when one US Dollar was equivalent to 215 riyals.

This decline has resulted in soaring prices for staple goods like rice, wheat, and fuel, further exacerbating the hardships faced by Yemeni citizens, Xinhua news agency reported.

Following the meeting, the central bank governor announced a public auction to sell $50 million as part of immediate interventions. He attributed the pressure on the riyal to the halt of key national resources, reduced aid, and declining state revenues.

Bin Mubarak emphasised the government's concern over the "catastrophic consequences" of the currency's depreciation on citizens' daily lives. He pledged full support for the central bank's measures and stressed the importance of their swift implementation to stabilise the exchange rate.

--IANS

int/khz