As well as high food and commodity prices (see Economic performance), additional inflationary pressures are coming from the depreciation of the local currency, the som. By end-May the som stood at Som1,704:US$1, a cumulative depreciation of 3.8% in nominal terms since end-2010 and a fall of 11.3% since end-2009. Given the low availability of hard currency (October 2010, Economic policy), the rate of exchange on the black market is even lower. The black-market exchange reportedly stood at Som2,400:US$1 in April, down from around Som2,190:US$1 in October 2010-a fall of almost 9%, and around 42% lower than the official exchange rate. Although well connected companies are allowed to benefit from the official exchange rate when importing goods, increasing their profit margins by means of the currency trade, this is impossible for unofficial traders, who have to resort to the black-market exchange rate. This inevitably pushes up prices for imported consumer goods that are smuggled across the border.