Sudan receives hard currency

Sudan received hard currency deposits from foreign friendly nations to support its ailing economy, the central bank deputy governor said Saturday. Deputy Governor Badr el-Din Mahmoud told al-Sudani newspaper the central bank had received foreign currency from "friendly" countries. "We will meet the country's currency demands until the end of this and next year," he said, adding that all requests to fund imports would be met. The report did not say which countries were coming through with hard currency. Al-Sudani newspaper said Saturday Sudan's economy has been battered since the country lost three-quarters of its oil production to South Sudan when the latter became independent in July. The Washington Informer said Saturday that as a result of a scarcity of dollars, inflation shot up to 28.6 percent in April, more than triple the level of November 2010, endangering not only Sudan's currency but its economic output.