KHARTOUM, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Sudan said on Tuesday that it intends to reduce the country's inflation rate to 27.1 percent in 2019.

"The policies of the Central Bank of Sudan for 2019 intend to achieve monetary and financial stability to realize sustainable growth," Mohamed Khair al-Zubair, governor of Sudan's central bank, said at a press conference in the capital Khartoum.

The central bank hopes to "contribute to achieving a real growth rate in GDP estimated at about 5.1 percent," he added.

According to al-Zubair, the central bank's polices in 2019 include curbing inflation, stabilizing the exchange rate, enhancing people's trust in the banking system and increasing the resources of foreign currency to achieve financial stability.

The inflation rate in Sudan jumped to a record 68.93 percent in December 2018 from 25.15 percent in December 2017.

The soaring inflation rates come amid the hike in prices of consumer goods and decline of the Sudanese pound.

Sudan has been undergoing a dire economic crisis since the secession of South Sudan in 2011, which caused a loss of 75 percent of its oil revenues.