Since the start of the health crisis, the black market for the currency has stagnated in Algeria. The exchange rate of the main currencies does not change much against the Algerian dinar and transactions are struggling to take off.
Despite the almost total reopening of the borders, the resumption of tourist travel, Umrah and Hajj, the situation is not changing clearly.
Currencies and the Algerian dinar: why the black market is stagnating in Algeria
Three main factors explain this trend. The first is the economic crisis. Algerians consume less and travel less as we saw this summer after the reopening of land borders with Tunisia. The number of Algerian tourists in this country has fallen sharply compared to previous years.
The other factor is the absence of importers. The latter drove the market before the crisis. But the measures taken by the government have tightened the conditions for imports of many products. Falling consumption also curbed imports. Result: demand for foreign currencies has fallen sharply.
Finally, the Algerian dinar has picked up in recent months in the official quotations of the Bank of Algeria. The depreciation of the national currency is no longer appropriate.
Despite this drop in demand and the rise of the dinar in official quotations, the main currencies remain at high levels against the Algerian dinar on the parallel market.
However, this Sunday, the euro recorded a decline on the black market (Square Port Said). It is exchanged at 210 dinars for one euro. It is difficult to say whether this decline will continue in the coming days.