SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Sudan will decide to float currency once it has sufficient reserves, finance minister says

5/2/2021: Reuters - Sudan will decide to float currency once it has sufficient reserves, finance minister says, by Khalid Abdelaziz

 Reuters report that Sudan will decide to float its currency once it has sufficient foreign reserves, and is also in talks with several parties to secure loans and grants, the then-acting finance minister Hiba Mohammed Ali said. "The timing for floating the currency is determined by having the appropriate circumstances [to prevent] a big jump in the exchange rate," she added.

With Sudan facing fuel, bread and electricity shortages and inflation at 254%, debt relief would free up access to further financing. Ali said Sudan was in talks with the IMF and U.S. Treasury Department, and was also in negotiations for $2 billion in financing from the World Bank. A source close to the negotiations cautioned that Sudan's arrears to the World Bank still needed to be cleared.

Ali also said the government will begin to roll out a family support programme that aims to cover 80% of the population.