Sudani faces first political challenge as dinar slumps

The Sudani government faced its first major challenge this week after a sudden decline in the value of the Iraqi dinar led to public outrage and calls on the government to intervene. On Tuesday, the dinar was trading on the grey market for 1,580 to the US dollar, a steep decline given that it typically trades for around 1,470 per dollar. Both the government and the Central Bank have sought to downplay the issue, suggesting that the drop in value was caused by “temporary pressures” that would be overcome in the short term. But claims and counterclaims about what caused the decline led to a flurry of accusations that have forced Sudani into a difficult balancing act as he seeks to abate public concerns and manage the fallout from his political backers.