The Sudanese pound's black market value dropped on January 1, the same day as the country devalued the currency, trading at 28.7 SDG per US dollar compared to 27 the day before, traders said. Sudan devalued the pound to an official rate of 18 SDG per dollar from 6.7 SDG per dollar, effective from January 1, after the International Monetary Fund urged it in December to float its currency to boost foreign investment.

"The (US) dollar exchange rate jumped today to 28.7 against the (Sudanese) pound," a trader on the black market told Reuters, adding that the dollar was expected to appreciate further. "The low exchange rate of the pound and the fluctuation in its price are the real problems that face our economy at the moment," Finance Minister Mohamed Othman Rukabi told a news conference on Tuesday.

Copyright Reuters, 2018