KABUL (Pajhwok): Two years after the political change in the country, the value of Afghan currency against the US dollar has come under control and today (Wednesday) one US dollar is traded for 78.20 afghanis.
After the fall of the previous government in August, 2021, due to restrictions on banking system and freezing of about $9 billion Afghan assets by the US, Afghanistan faced severe economic challenges and one of these challenges was the decrease in the afghani value against the US dollar.
However, in March 2021, one US dollar consumed 77.30 afghanis, but four months later the same year one day before the fall of the previous government, it was exchanged for 88 afghanis and its value was downing with the passage of each day.
According to a Pajhwok report in November 2021, the value of one US dollar reached 130 afghanis.
Moneychangers: Afghani again in better position
Haji Hussain, owner of Sadaqat Money Exchange Service, told Pajhwok Afghan News: “Today at 4:00pm, one US dollar is traded for 78.20 afghanis.”
He linked the increase in the value of afghani against the US dollar to dollar sales by the central bank, saying the afghani value could increase even more.
Meanwhile, Haji Mohammad Tahir Qayyum, deputy head of the Exchangers’ Union of Sarai Shahzadah in Kabul, told Pajhwok about the reason for the increase in the value of the afghani against the US dollar was the ban on foreign currencies in Kandahar and Helmand provinces.
However, in some provinces, Pakistani and Iranian currencies are used in daily transactions.
Abdul Rahman Zirak, a spokesman for the moneychangers’ union in Sara-i-Shahzada, expressed happiness with the increase in the value of afghani.
DAB: Besides other factors, monetary policies led to rise in afghani value
Hasibullah Noori, Da Afghanistan Bank (central bank) spokesman, told Pajhwok that reasonable monetary policies, the promotion of the Afghan currency and people’s trust in the stability of the afghani were factors contributing to the increase in the afghani value against other currencies.
He said the central bank was trying to keep the afghani stable.
Rising value of afghani a good omen
Taj Mohammad Talash, an expert on economic affairs and a professor at Kabul University’s Faculty of Economics, told Pajhwok that the decline in the value of the US dollar against the afghani had both internal and external factors.
According to him, the war between Russia and Ukraine, the complicity of some world powers against the United States are external factors that caused the decline in the value of the American dollar.
He cited prevention of dollar smuggling, currency management by the central bank, proper collection of revenues and the increase in humanitarian aid from the international community among internal factors.
He considered the rise in the value of the Afghan currency as a good sign and said it would lead to a decrease in the prices of imported goods.
Meanwhile, Abdul Jabbar Safi, the head of the Union of Industrialists and an expert on economic affairs, said: “The humanitarian aid has increased and hundreds of containers loaded with fresh and dried fruits go out of Afghanistan every day, the attraction of foreign investors has an impact on the value of the Afghan currency”.
Citizens happy with rise afghani value but want control on prices
Abdul Nabi, a resident of Taimani area of Kabul, said: “After two years, the value of the afghani against the dollar has gone up, which is a good thing, but the prices must be controlled.”
He added after the value of the dollar rose, the prices of daily use items, especially oil and food, also rose continuously, but now the government must control the prices.
sa/ma
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