CES chairperson Chamber of Commerce Robert Pitia - Courtesy

Central Equatoria Chamber of Commerce said Friday that it will monitor the currency exchange rate for about one week before adopting a policy encouraging importers and traders to reduce commodity prices.

The South Sudan pound has been dramatically shooting up against the US dollar, and currently trades at 2,995SSP per dollar at the Bank of South Sudan, and at 3,000SSP in the black market.

Robert Pitia, the Chairperson of CES Chamber of Commerce, said the significant appreciation of pounds remains a mystery and is unlikely to be sustainable.

Speaking to Eye Radio, Pitia said the chamber is monitoring the exchange rate for a week before urging the traders to reduce the prices of goods.

“We do not know for how long it will take. To determine the prices people need to know exactly how long this dollar is going to stay, at which fixed price,” he said.

“As the chamber of commerce, when we know this is the price of dollar, then we will come with a policy and call the importers and talk to them because at the end of the day we know the dollar rate dropped and they must reduce the price. By next week things will be clear.”

According to market sources, commodity prices have not been lowered despite the sharp rise in value of the national currency. This is apparently because traders argue that they must first sell off the commodities and services they acquired at a higher cost.

On Thursday, a financial economist said the dramatic exchange rate stability is not likely to be sustainable because the government has not implemented measures that would enable liquidity in the market.