Syria devalues local currency for 2nd time in 4 months

DAMASCUS, Syria (AA) - Syria devalued its national currency on Monday, the second time in less than four months.

In a statement, the Central Bank lowered the official exchange rate to 4.522 lira against the US dollar.

Previously, the official rate had been set at 3.015 lira.

The dollar is traded on the black market for around 6,500 liras.

Monday's devaluation was the second in less than four months after the Central Bank weakened the national currency from 2,814 lira to 3,015 lira against the dollar in September.

Foreign currency wealth has been declining in the Syrian market for more than 10 years, at a time when traders and citizens preferred the dollar to the local currency to protect their savings from falling exchange rates.

Syria has been wracked by civil war since early 2011, when the regime of Bashar al-Assad cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrators.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to estimates from UN.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report