The South Sudan Pound has regained some of its value against the US dollar following the signing of a peace deal by President Salva Kiir on Wednesday.

On Tuesday evening, one US dollar was selling on the black market for 17.2 SSP, the weakest rate ever for the South Sudan currency. Market prices rose accordingly, with a bag of cement which sold at 180 SSP on Monday going for 230 SSP by Tuesday night. Traders explained that the rise was caused by uncertainty about whether Kiir would actually sign the deal.

But by Wednesday at noon the pound strengthened to 10 SSP to the dollar when it became clear Kiir would sign the deal. By Thursday morning the pound weakened slightly to 12 to the dollar, according to black market traders.

The official rate has held steady at around 3 SSP to the dollar throughout, but this is only available for mostly government officials and their relatives and some select businesses.