Dollar surges, fuel, gold & some food prices up in Kabul

KABUL (Pajhwok): The US dollar rose against the afghani and the prices of Arabian gold, fuel, flour, sugar, and cooking oil increased during the outgoing week in Kabul, market sources said on Saturday.

Haji Hussain, owner of the Sadaqat Money Exchange Service, said one US dollar traded at 73.30afs and 1,000 Pakistani rupees consumed 255afs.

Last week, one US dollar accounted for 72.20afs and 1,000 Pakistani rupees for 253afs.

Haji Hussain, referring to the increase in the value of the US dollar against the afghani, said that people were changing afghanis into dollars, resulting in a decrease in the amount of greenbacks in the market, leading to a surge in its value.

Food items

Zmarai Safi, head of the Food Traders’ Association, said the price of a 49-kilogram Kazakh flour increased from 1,350afs to 1,370afs, 16-liter tin of Malaysian cooling oil surged from 1,750afs to 1,800afs, 49-kilogram sack of Indian sugar jumped from 2,450afs to 2,600afs.

According to Safi, due to the rise in the US dollar against the Afghan currency, the prices of these goods also increased in the markets of Kabul.

A 24-kg bag of Pakistani rice stayed stable at 2,600afs, a kilogram of African black tea at 400afs and the same amount of Indonesian green tea at 350afs.

Hamid Sufizada, a retailer at Dahna-i-Bagh Market, put the retail price of a 49-kilogram bag of Kazakh flour at 1,420afs, a 24-kg bag of Pakistani rice at 2,650afs and a 49-kg sack of Indian sugar at 2,650afs.

A 16-litre bottle of cooking oil accounted for 1,850afs, one kilogram of black tea for 400afs and the same quantity of green tea for 450afs, he added.

Fuel prices

A worker at the Ahmadyar pump station told Pajhwok the price of one litre of petrol increased from 61afs to 62afs and rate of diesel from 59afs to 62afs.

Mohammad Sharif, a liquefied gas seller in Koloa Pushta neighborhood, said the price of a kilogram of the commodity surged from 54afs 56afs.

Gold prices up

Mohammad Fawad, a jeweller in Timor Shahi area, said the price of one gram of Arabian gold went up from 5,100afs to 5,150afs and the same amount of the Russian variety stayed unchanged at 4,100afs.

sa/ma