Egypt and Lebanon are not alone. In Iraq, hundreds of football fans chanted, “Down the dollar,” for their prime minister as he attended the final match of the Arabian Gulf Cup.
Many currencies of the Middle East countries recorded historical declines at the beginning of this year, which prompted some speculators in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey to refrain from them, for fear of their continued declines.
Lost The Egyptian pound lost nearly 45 percent of its value, as it declined during its trading to the level of 32.18 Egyptian pounds per dollar.Ramadan Saleh, a Cairo resident, said, “I stopped buying meat. Chicken prices have now increased to 60 pounds per kilogram (2.2 pounds). I have three children, how will I cover their needs?”
For his part, al-Najjar Majoud confirmed, “Prices change every day. Each merchant sells goods at different prices. The problem is we don’t control the markets.” With salaries halved and banks restricted withdrawals, many residents now call Egypt “the new Lebanon.”
Egypt and Lebanon are not alone. In Iraq, hundreds of football fans chanted, “Lower the price of the dollar,” to their prime minister while attending the final match of the Arab Gulf Cup. The local Iraqi dinar exchange rate on Friday reached 1,659 dinars to one dollar, the highest price since 2004.
In this context, Abdullah Jaber, an Iraqi shop owner, said, “They are going up every day,” noting that “the rise in the exchange rate is gradually paralyzing the market, because there is no demand from customers. Prices are very high.”
In Turkey, the prices of the lira fell to their lowest levels, and the value of the dollar against the Turkish lira amounted to about 1%, as the value of the dollar amounted to about 18.797 Turkish liras, after it was at the end of 2022 when the value of the dollar reached 18.615 Turkish liras.
During a full year, the prices of the Turkish lira fell by 45.72%, after the value of the US dollar at the end of 2021 was about 10.2 liras, while it has now declined to 18.8 Turkish liras.
In Syria and Lebanon, the prices of the two countries’ liras declined during their recent trading, as the official exchange rate of the dollar against the Syrian pound amounted to about 2512.5 Syrian pounds, while its value against the Lebanese currency amounted to about 1513.77 Lebanese pounds.
