Sudan Forms Crisis Cell As Pound Hits Record Low

Khartoum, August 31, 2026 - Sudan's government formed an emergency task force to halt the collapse of the national currency after the pound fell to an all-time low of 6,600 to the U.S. dollar on the parallel market.

The National Economic Management Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Kamel Idris, placed Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim in charge of a crisis cell tasked with emergency fiscal and monetary measures. The depreciation accelerated after the Central Bank of Sudan gave commercial banks greater flexibility to set rates and purchase export earnings.

The cabinet also ordered audits of corporate registries and commercial agencies, warning that non-compliant firms and fronts involved in illicit trade would be struck off. A separate ministerial panel chaired by Defence Minister Lt. Gen. Hassan Dawood Kabron convened to target black-market currency trading, trade-related fraud and gold smuggling.

The currency shock is a major macroeconomic warning sign for investors, with implications for import costs, inflation, banking liquidity, gold-sector governance and the viability of contracts priced in local currency.