Algeria’s black market for foreign currency underlines its economic woes

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — In Algeria, people have long relied on foreign currencies to buy imported items in short supply or finance their children’s educations abroad. But the value of the Algerian dinar has recently swung wildly on the country’s black market as its value has plummeted compared to euros, pounds and dollars. The oil-rich country’s large black market for foreign currency is among the signs of its economic woes. The parallel exchange rate underscores how everyday Algerians have lost their buying power as the government has juggled competing priorities, trying to combat inflation and maintain state spending, subsidies and price controls that keep people afloat.