Sudan set on Sunday the daily exchange rate for its pound as part of a new currency mechanism in what amounts to a sharp devaluation, the head of the country's bankers' union said.
The pound traded 47.5 to the US dollar, down from 29 pounds to the dollar, the official rate on Saturday.
It was also lower than the black market rate of around 45.5 pounds to the dollar.
Sudan's central bank governor, Mohamed Kheir al-Zubeir, announced on Thursday that from Sunday the country would set its daily exchange rate using a newly formed body of bankers and exchange bureaus, part of a package of measures designed to tackle an economic crisis.
Zubeir said the measures would mean that the Sudanese pound was likely to lose value against the dollar initially before later stabilizing.
"The mechanism met and set the pound rate at 47.5 pounds to the dollar," Abbas Abdallah, the head of the country's bankers' union, told Reuters.
Under the new mechanism, Sudan will set its gold price in line with international prices but payments would be made at the new exchange rate fixed by the body of bankers and exchange bureaus.
Inflation in Sudan is rampant and hit a record high 66 percent in August, one of the highest rates in the world.
