Syrian Pound Plummets as Northeast Syria Embraces U.S. Dollar for Economic Stability
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In northeast Syria, the U.S. dollar is widely used and accepted as currency due to the extreme devaluation of the Syrian pound over 13 years of conflict.
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The Syrian pound has seen unprecedented decline, going from 50 to the U.S. dollar before the war to 14,000 to the dollar currently on black markets.
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U.S. dollars help stabilize the local economy and allow business owners and vendors to avoidconstant price fluctuations caused by the volatile Syrian pound.
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Though not officially "dollarized," the autonomous administration in northeast Syria allows dollar use to support economic stability.
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Abundance of U.S. dollars gives the northeast a economic advantage over Syrian government areas, which ban dollar use due to Western sanctions.