Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. XLVIII

No 47

21-November-2005

SYRIA

Syria Raises Interest Rates To Defend Its Currency

Syria announced last week an increase in interest rates to defend the local currency which recently fell by over 3% against the US dollar from $1=S55 to $1=S57, with mounting international pressure on Syria to cooperate with the UN investigation into the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri. The Syrian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs 'Abd Allah...