Black market dealers in Syria have taken control of the foreign exchange market, leading exchange rates to hit record levels. The past few days have also shown that the dealers are “deeply involved” in the oil derivatives market, which has witnessed a severe crisis since early winter.
Damascus — Due to the changes on the map of power and influence, the official Syrian economy has seen a significant decline in activity and potential. This deterioration has been to the advantage of other economies, some of which are new and resulted from the developments of the crisis on the ground, and some are old and were revived by the economic conditions across the country's regions.
The informal economy today far exceeds the national economy. This directly affects the lives of the Syrian people and the structure of the national economy. The situation is expected to continue for years, especially in light of the current “institutionalized” management of the activities of these economies, which control large and important resources, both in state-controlled areas and territories outside the government’s control.