Unified FX and Gold Market Declared
Syria's Central Bank has created the Damascus Market for Foreign Currencies and Gold, an electronic trading venue intended to unify the reference price for the Syrian pound (SYP) against the US dollar (USD) and for domestic gold. Governor Abdulkader Husrieh announced the move on 23 April 2026, describing it as a central step in a broader restructuring of monetary policy.
The decision implements Prime Minister Decision No. 189 of 2025 and forms part of what the governor called the bank's second strategic pillar: building a balanced and transparent exchange market.
Electronic Platform, Real-Time Prices
The new venue will operate as an electronic platform built to international standards. Its stated purpose is to organize trading, unify the reference price, and reflect supply and demand accurately and in real time.
Husrieh said the system will deliver reliable data and continuous updates, limiting unregulated speculation and anchoring trader expectations to a single published rate.
A Move Against Parallel Markets
The governor framed the platform as a tool for eliminating the black market and any parallel currency markets, describing it as the first such measure in more than seventy years.
He said centralizing visible price discovery will support confidence among market participants and strengthen the transparency of the exchange sector, by replacing fragmented street quotations with a single reference that can be updated instantly.
Participants and Compliance Standards
Officials said the market's creation is one of a package of decisions taken to reshape the exchange sector and the financial professions linked to it. The platform will be run with participants who commit to the same international standards that govern the infrastructure itself.
That compliance requirement is presented as the channel through which Syria's foreign exchange and gold trading will be lifted toward practices that the governor described as the best globally available.
Part of a Wider Strategy
Husrieh said the Central Bank remains committed to executing its full strategy, with the stated aim of balancing the exchange market and supporting the country's economic recovery.
He framed the launch as one building block rather than a standalone step, tying it to the bank's declared goals of monetary stability and improved efficiency in foreign currency and gold markets.