JEDDAH — Money exchange offices in Makkah have stopped changing a number of foreign currencies including the Sudanese pound, the Russian ruble and the Libyan dinar, local business daily Al-Eqtisadiah reported on Tuesday quoting market sources. A number of currency exchange officials said the prices in Makkah are controlled by the exchange offices in Jeddah that send them daily lists containing the prices of all foreign currencies. According to them, transactions have also been halted for the CFA, the official currency of five West African countries; the Yemeni riyal; and the Syrian pound. Salem Bashamil, owner of an exchange office in Makkah, said the offices have stopped dealing in these currencies according to the lists they receive daily from their counterparts in Jeddah. He said the exchange prices of the Sudanese pound, Libyan dinar, Russian ruble, Syrian pound and the CFA of Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Chad and Mali are ambiguous and sharply fluctuating. Bashamil said they expected prices of the Chinese yuan to go up, especially when a delegation of Saudi businessmen was traveling to China to attend a trade fair. “The price did not go up in the past because the businessmen preferred to take with them US dollars instead,” he said. According to Bashamil, 100 yuan are sold at SR62 and bought for between SR57-SR58. “People, however, buy their yuan from Jeddah because it is not available in Makkah,” he added. Bashamil said demand for the Iraqi dinar is growing as pilgrims and traders from the country prefer to buy it before they travel back home. Abdullah Al-Sayrafi, another owner of an exchange office, said the price lists they receive from Jeddah have unwanted currencies marked with crosses beside them. “When we see an x against any currency, we immediately stop buying it,” he added. Al-Sayrafi said the buying and selling of the Iranian rial and the Afghan afghani has also been on hold for a long time. He described the current currency trade as “recessing” and said daily transactions were between SR400,000 and SR600,000. “These are small amounts of money compared to the high seasons of Haj and Umrah,” he said. Sayrafi said the declining price of the euro has adversely affected the prices of currencies of all southeast Asian countries, Swiss franc, South African rand, Egyptian pound, Canadian dollar and Australian dollar. He said the demand is still good for the Turkish lira, which Saudi vacationers prefer to buy before proceeding to Turkey for their holidays. “The demand for Turkish lira has increased by about 80 percent and is expected to soar further during the school summer holidays,” he said. Sayrafi said the demand for the Malaysian ringgit has increased by 40-60 percent, occupying second place after the Turkish lira.
