Sudanese Pound Hits Record Low, Shuttering Shops in Khartoum, Port Sudan and Wad Madani

The Sudanese pound collapsed to a record low on the parallel market on September 18, 2026, with the US dollar trading above 8,200 pounds, the UAE dirham above 2,050, and the Saudi riyal above 2,025 — up roughly 40% in three weeks from about 6,000 pounds to the dollar. The rate briefly spiked to 9,500 before steadying between 7,900 and 8,000 by September 19. Most shops across surveyed markets in Khartoum, Port Sudan and Wad Madani shut down as traders could not price goods; a 50kg sack of sugar rose from 380,000 to 470,000 pounds and a 50kg sack of flour from 80,000 to 120,000 pounds, with bakeries closing and diesel scarcity reported. Resident Musa Ibrahim asked, 'What do you want from us? Do you want us to leave the country to you?' Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim attributed the collapse to strong demand for foreign exchange as imports outstrip exports and to rising Bab El Mandeb-related shipping and insurance costs, saying 'the government buys gold and exports it to obtain foreign currency, and it cannot buy from the parallel market because it knows how dangerous this is,' while denying government involvement in parallel-market purchases.