KABUL —
Afghanistan's currency dived to a record low
against the
US dollar on Monday, taking its losses over the last week to 30
percent as an economic collapse and humanitarian crisis grip the country.
اضافة اعلان
There has been an enormous shortage of dollars since the
Taliban seized power in August as international donors suspended billions in
aid provided annually to the previous US-backed regime.
Afghanistan's Money Exchange Commission said it has urged
the central bank to intervene in the market to shore up the afghani, which
sagged to 130 against the dollar in Monday trade, down from around 100 a week
ago.
"We asked them to interfere in the market and
distribute dollars," said Haji Zeerak, a spokesman for the commission.
Since the Taliban takeover, the central bank has been cut
off from nearly $10 billion in reserves it held overseas, mainly in the
US.
The afghani's depreciation began gathering pace early last
week, propelled by market fears that a major bank might collapse.
Banks have placed severe restrictions on customer
withdrawals, rocking confidence in the financial system.
The country's cash crunch has fed into an economic collapse
that has left it facing a deepening humanitarian crisis.
Many people in the capital Kabul have resorted to selling
personal items to feed themselves.
"I have sold my gold jewelry to have some dollars for
the expenses of our house," said housewife Khalida, lamenting a surge in
prices for cooking oil and flour.
More than half of Afghanistan's 38 million people face
"acute" food shortages, according to the
UN, with the winter forcing
millions to choose between migration and starvation.
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