Local Editor
The resigned regime of former Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi ordered a temporary halt to imports of luxury goods, including automobiles, in a bid to prop up the struggling local currency, according to a statement tweeted by the information minister on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, one Yemeni protester was killed after a large number of demonstrators took to the streets against mishandling of the deteriorating economic situation by the Saudi-backed administration across a number of southern provinces.
The angry demonstrators protesting against Yemen's worsening economic situation and weakening currency blocked major roads and burned tyres in the southern city of Aden on Sunday. They blocked several roads in the cities of Mualla, Sheikh Othman, Al Mansoora, Khormaksar, al-Shab and Brega.
Similar demonstrations were also held in southern Hadhramaut and Dali' provinces.
Soaring prices have put some basic commodities out of reach for many Yemenis, and the Hadi administration has struggled to pay public sector salaries.
The Saudi-backed Yemeni authorities have sought to boost liquidity by printing money, but the Yemeni riyal plunged from 250 to the dollar to 350 after the first batch of newly printed notes was rolled out last year. It was trading at 440 to the dollar by the end of last year and crashed to around 500 in January.
One dollar is traded now for 600 riyals, from only 513 riyals in mid-August.
In January, Saudi Arabia intervened to save the local currency by depositing $2 billion, but the move seems to have had a little impact on strengthening the ailing currency.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
