By William Madouk
Finance Ministry is striving to stabilize exchange rates and bring down the price of commodities in the market, Minister Bak Barnaba Chol said.
Bak said the ministry teams up with Ministry of Trade, the Central Bank, and other relevant authorities to stabilize the economy.
“We are working in collaboration and in harmony with all these institutions, including the Minister of Trade, to make sure the prices of essential commodities in the market are affordable,” said Bak.
The finance minister howled over the foreign exchange dollar’s fluctuation, adding that, as the ministry of finance, they are unhappy.
“We know the dollar rate keeps fluctuating, but we have managed to at least stabilize at a rate that is not appreciated,” he added. “Of course, we are not happy about the rate, but you know it goes through a supply and demand kind of activity in the market.”
Dr. Bak also revealed that they would pump more US dollars into the market to cool down the wild exchange rate.
“So, we also need to be patient; as we increase the supply of USD to the market, the price of the dollar will decrease, and as a result, stability or equilibrium in our foreign exchange market may be realized,” he noted.
“It may not be fast, but we are moving towards that. So we are working so hard with the central bank to make sure there are enough dollars in the market so that the parallel market does not act parallel to our economic policies,” Minister Bak stressed.
As of yesterday, the Central Bank’s official exchange rate stands at SSP 1026, while one dollar sells in the black market for SSP 1045, and this fluctuates.