Sudanese pound falls to 10,100 per dollar

The surge matters because Sudan’s parallel market is functioning as the country’s real price setter. With limited central bank intervention and a banking system unable to reliably supply dollars for imports, companies and households have increasingly been forced into the informal market. That pushes up the local-currency cost of imported fuel, wheat and basic goods, making it harder to stabilize prices even when authorities announce spending cuts or other austerity measures.

Prime Minister Kamel Idris has said the government will curb spending from October to ease living costs and defend the exchange rate, but economists argue those steps will do little while the war continues to drain public finances and disrupt trade. The budget is already under strain, with state spending fragmented across short time horizons because the finance ministry lacks clear revenue visibility.

The currency slide is already filtering into consumer prices. Bakeries have raised the cost of two loaves to 1,000 pounds from three loaves, while flour mills have lifted prices as import costs jump. Traders also said fuel shortages are adding pressure, and the energy ministry has opened talks with Saudi Aramco over fuel supplies, a sign that the country’s import dependence is worsening the demand for foreign exchange.

For investors, the episode is a reminder that Sudan’s macro problem is not just depreciation but liquidity scarcity, institutional weakness and war risk. Without regular central bank dollar sales, a meaningful rebound in exports or a political shift that restores access to external financing, the pound is likely to stay under extreme pressure. The few beneficiaries are exporters and holders of hard currency; the losers are importers, consumers and the broader formal economy, which faces a deeper squeeze on activity and margins.