Afghanistan’s currency hit an all-time low against the US dollar on Monday, following a 30-percent drop in the previous week as the country faces an economic collapse and humanitarian crisis.
There has been a massive shortage of dollars as the Taliban seized the power in August, international donors suspended billion in aid provided annually to the US-backed Afghan regime.
Afghanistan’s Money Exchange Commission said it has urged the central bank to intervene in the market to shore up the Afghani, which sagged to 130 against the dollar in Monday trade, down from around 100 a week ago.
“We asked them to interfere in the market and distribute dollars,” said Haji Zeerak, a spokesman for the commission.
Since the Taliban took control the central bank has been cut off from about $10 billion in reserves stored abroad, primarily in the United States.
The weakening of the Afghani began early last week, propelled by market expectations that a major bank might fail.
Banks have placed severe restrictions on customer withdrawals, rocking confidence in the financial system.
The country’s cash crunch has fed into an economic collapse that has left it facing a deepening humanitarian crisis.
