Afghan currency drops further against dollar

KABUL: The value of Afghan currency continues to drop against the US dollar as the country’s economy is on the verge of collapse.

The price of one dollar was over 110 Afs on Sunday. The union of money exchangers of Surah-e-Shahzad said a lack of sufficient dollars available in the market is the main reason for the rapid fall of the Afs.

“The main reason for the drop in Afs is that the market faces a shortage of dollars and the demand for dollars is high. There are also some negative actors who oppose the Islamic Emirate and make propaganda to cause the drop in value of Afs,” said Haji Zirak, a spokesman for the union.

“The private banks provide interest in Afs. For example, if previously a company had an account, the bank would give the company’s interest in dollars but now they provide the interest in Afs,” said Abdul Wahid Aslami, a money exchanger.

Meanwhile, Da Afghanistan Bank said that the third batch of humanitarian cash aid — $19.2 million — arrived in Kabul on Sunday. “It is worth mentioning that Da Afghanistan Bank has always tried to maintain the price of Afs on a proper scale. There are hopes that the arrival of this package will help maintain the price of Afs against other currencies,” said Haseebullah Noori, spokesman for the Da Afghanistan Bank.

“This is a temporary situation. We pledge that the situation will stabilise,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate. This comes as the US formalised guidance to allow remittances to flow to Afghanistan. The economists believe that the US decision to allow remittances to flow to Afghanistan will reduce the charges of money transactions in the country.