JUBA, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's central bank said on Tuesday that it will limit the amount of weekly hard currency auctions to commercial banks and forex bureaus from 10 million U.S. dollars to 5 million dollars.

Johnny Ohisa Damian, the governor of the Bank of South Sudan, said the move comes in the wake of the U.S. Federal Reserve's hiking its interest rates.

"The Bank of South Sudan Auction Supervisory Committee has unanimously decided to reduce the weekly foreign currency auction amounts to 3 million dollars for commercial banks and 2 million dollars to forex bureaus down from 6 million and 4 million dollars per week respectively," said Ohisa in a statement issued in the South Sudanese capital of Juba.

In early October, the apex bank reduced the auction money from 20 million dollars to 10 million dollars, citing the appreciation of the South Sudanese pound (SSP) against the U.S. dollar.

Ohisa also hailed the successful implementation of the new monetary policy instrument known as the Term Deposit Facility (TDF) auction, which has significantly contributed to the decline in the money supply growth to the desirable target of a single digit.

He said the TDF is currently performing well and has become a key instrument in steering short-term market rates and management of excess liquidity, encouraging banks to focus on their mandate of financial intermediation, thereby promoting the culture of saving and providing credit to the private sector to stimulate economic activities.

Ohisa said the apex bank is aware of the slight strengthening of the U.S. dollar against all major currencies, including the SSP.

He said the Bank of South Sudan will monitor the developments on increased demand for forex by both businesses and individuals ahead of the festive season. Enditem

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