The North Bank Evening Standard [TNBES]: Gambian Dalasi Fall Drastically in 2013

Saturday, February 1, 2014

In September 2013, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that prolonged overvalued exchange rate would damage Gambia’s international competitiveness (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Gambian Dalasi depreciated significantly in the second half of 2013, a quarterly report by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG), indicated on Friday.

Although the Dalasi was broadly stable in the first half of the year, as at end-December 2013 it depreciated against the US Dollar by 14.8 per cent, the Euro 21 per cent and Pound Sterling 14.8 per cent - from December 2012, the MPC admitted at a briefing in Banjul on January 31.

“In nominal effective exchange rate terms, the Dalasi depreciated by 15.1 per cent compared to 13.5 per cent and 7.3 per cent in 2012 and 2011 respectively,” the MPC said of the three-year downward trend of the national currency against major international currencies.

5, 10, 25, 50 butut coins (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It blamed the depreciation of the Dalasi partly due to “reduced foreign exchange receipts, coupled with strong demand owing in part to the high level of liquidity in the economy.”

In September 2013, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that prolonged overvalued exchange rate would damage Gambia’s international competitiveness.

The warning followed several Gambia Government directives that downgraded foreign currency exchange rates, impose a moratorium on the shipment of the dollar, suspension of money operators, seizure of financial bureau licences, and arrests and detention of forex bureau staff.