Yemen’s currency sinks to historic lows, worsening famine risk

Yemen’s currency sinks to historic lows, worsening famine risk

ADEN "” Yemen's currency, the riyal, has sunk to historic lows in recent days, in a new threat to the war-torn country which is already on the brink of famine.

In the government-controlled southern capital of Aden, the dollar is trading at more than 1,000 riyal, the highest rate since the war began in 2014, when Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized the northern capital of Sanaa.

The currency has lost some 6 per cent in the south in the past three weeks. Meanwhile, the riyal trades at about 600 riyals to the dollar in rebel-controlled areas, which stretch across much of the country's north.