John Ohisa Damian, Governor of the Central Bank. Courtesy.

The Bank of South Sudan has taken measures against the depreciation of the pound including the continuous auctioning of the US dollars and draining of excess pounds from the market.

The Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank said it has noted with concerns the “persistent depreciation of South Sudanese pounds against the US dollars and the subsequent increase in prices of imported commodities.”

The Central Bank attributes the skyrocketing inflation to a tight global financial condition following Russia’s war in Ukraine.

To address the challenges, the bank says it has maintained zero-deficit financing and restricts government spending through borrowing or bank overdrafts.

It has also considered increasing the amount of the Term Deposit Facility Auction from 10 billion to 20 point nine billion pounds.

It often allows the bank to auction set amounts of collateral-backed short-term loans to depository institutions such as savings banks, and commercial banks.

The Bank will also provide trade finance facilities to major importers of basic commodities such as fuel, food, and pharmaceuticals.

Among other things, it will continue the weekly five million US dollar auctioning to commercial banks and Forex bureaus.