Collapse of Syrian pound deals blow to struggling shops

DAMASCUS: Mohammad Zarqawi ambled around his narrow shop in central Damascus, filling plastic bags with colourful spices and herbs, their aroma spilling out into a dim market once bustling with customers.
The middle-aged shop owner said business has slowed since the value of the Syrian pound against the dollar plunged to its lowest level in history this month.
“When we fall asleep it’s one price and when we wake up it’s another,” he said in his shop in Al-Buzuriyah market, surrounded by jars of popular spices thyme and sumac.  “Every time you want to buy something, you notice a big price difference,” he added.  On the black market on September 8, the Syrian pound was trading at 691 against the dollar — its lowest rate in history — before it climbed to 610 on Monday.
That is a significant drop from 500 Syrian pounds to the dollar at the end of last year.