“Square” Market Expands To World Currencies With Social Comeback

The so-called “square” informal market for foreign currencies in Port Said Square in the capital Algiers is witnessing a remarkable recovery in recent times, as it returned with unprecedented strength and became crowded with sellers and buyers, to the extent that the area for buying and selling currency expanded to include nearby streets and alleys, not to mention the diversity of currency after the entry of some private currencies Asian, American and Arab countries on the line of the euro and the US dollar.
Although the euro currency continues to occupy the issued currency in the promotion, followed by the U.S. dollar currency, the demand is no longer limited to the “square” diaries for these two currencies, as the sellers of this market were surprised by the increase in demand for the Turkish lira, the British pound, the Japanese yen and the Malaysian ringgit, the Brazilian real, the Russian ruble, the Canadian dollar, the Saudi riyal and the UAE dirham.
And during a fact-finding tour that Echorouk took this week to the Port Said Square market in downtown Algiers, we observed the buying and selling, as it was four o’clock in the afternoon and the market was still crowded, and as soon as we inquired about the availability of currencies other than the euro, the dollar and the Turkish lira, and the Japanese yen. The quick response from a group of young people competing for customers was that all currencies circulate here in Port Said Square in the capital.
One of the sellers said that some countries where travelers can deal in euros, but some Algerians, whether those who go for tourism or trade, are looking for their original currency here, not to mention countries classified in the European Union, but they have preserved their currency, such as Denmark and Sweden, where available in the “square”, the Swedish krona, and the Danish krona at some currency dealers.
The price of buying 100 euros in the “square” reached 22,700 DZD, while it was sold by the pioneers of this market, for 22,400 DZD, and the price of 100 US dollars is around 19,800 for selling and 20,000 DZD for buying, while 100 English bands are sold for 25,000. It is bought for 25,250 DZD, and the Turkish lira is almost equal to the Algerian dinar. As for the Canadian dollar, there has been a noticeable increase in the black market for hard currency. 100 Canadian dollars are sold for 14,900 DZD and bought for 14,700 DZD.
In this regard, the head of the Algerian Forum for Export and Import, International Trade and Investment, Mohamed Hassani, confirmed to “Echorouk” that a large number of foreigners have recently come to Algeria to invest, not to mention the international exhibitions and demonstrations that have been organized in our country in the recent period, All this, according to him, contributed to an increase in the demand for foreign currencies, as some of them exchanged them for the Algerian dinar, while others looked for the currency of their countries on their return.
Mr Hassani believes that the movement in the “square” market in buying and selling currencies came with the approach of social comeback, the return of foreign investors and the willingness of Algerians to return to foreign countries where they live or go to study or tourism.
The same speaker explained that the “cabinet” merchants played an important role in the diversity of buying and selling currencies, as some of them bring them from the countries they come from or buy them from the “square” market to use them in their commercial transactions abroad.
Mr Hassani also said that Algerians had many destinations in 2022 and 2023, and digitalization and modern technology contributed to this. Between studies, trade and tourism, their travels, according to him, were to and from Malaysia to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and to Germany, England and Russia, Canada and America, and even the Scandinavian countries.