The price of the South Sudanese pound against the US dollar dropped in the black market in Juba yesterday to the lowest level since the independence of the country.

Currency traders in the black market were exchanging at 7.2 pounds to the dollar while the official rate at the banks remained 3.16.

A number of merchants and business owners who spoke to Radio Tamazuj complained that the weak pound and the shortage of dollars in the country makes it difficult to import goods and has contributed to rising prices of essential commodities such as food.

They also complained of currency traders who are supposedly able to get dollars from the bank and then sell them on the street at twice the price.

Dr. Luka Biong, a lecturer at the University of Juba, attributed the falling value of the pound to several reasons, the most important of which was the collapse of the peace talks in Addis Ababa besides the resumption of clashes in oil-producing Upper Nile State.

He indicated that the high price of the dollar in South Sudan will impact the livelihoods of ordinary citizens.