[LINK] "Syria’s opposition plans to replace Syrian pound with Turkish lira"

[rfmcdonald]

Al-Monitor's Mohammed al-Khatieb reports how the Syrian opposition is switching currencies, from the Syrian pound to the much stronger Turkish lira. This may well make economic sense, but it may also signal an expansion of the Turkish sphere of influence.

The Syrian opposition forces and institutions in the north are investigating whether the Turkish lira could substitute the Syrian pound, which has been drastically dropping in value since the start of the war in early 2011. The Syrian pound is still the main currency in the opposition-controlled areas, despite it having been three years since the Bashar al-Assad regime lost control of these areas.

In the eastern part of the country that is under the control of the opposition in Aleppo, one rarely sees products priced in foreign currencies. Food items such as bread and vegetables as well as fuel and clothing are priced in Syrian pounds; electronic devices such as imported mobile phones and computers are priced in US dollars.

At the end of each day, traders convert their money from the Syrian pound to foreign currencies in order not to lose out. Alaa, a seller of fuel in Bab al-Nairab, told Al-Monitor, “I don’t keep large sums of Syrian pounds. [The Syrian pound] is volatile and unstable.”

The Syrian pound has been witnessing sudden price fluctuations against foreign currencies, in light of the rapidly changing political and military events. Before the protests in March 2011 that demanded the departure of Assad, $1 was worth 46 Syrian pounds. But according to the Central Bank of Syria, $1 was worth 240 Syrian pounds on July 9. The exchange rate of the dollar on the black market in Aleppo is currently around 298 Syrian pounds.

The Committee for Replacing the Currency is now working in opposition-controlled areas in the north — Aleppo, Idlib, Hama and Latakia — to realize the replacement of the Syrian pound with the Turkish lira in the daily dealings of the population.