Lebanese Central Bank Seeks to Strengthen Currency after Slump

  • Date: 14-Jan-2022
  • Source: Asharq AL-awsat
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Lebanon
  • Who else needs to know?

Lebanese Central Bank Seeks to Strengthen Currency after Slump

Lebanon's central bank said on Friday it aimed to boost the Lebanese pound's value by easing restrictions on dollar purchases after the currency hit a record low, fueling fresh protests about rising prices and a collapsing economy.

The pound, which has lost more than 90% of its value since Lebanon's financial crisis erupted in 2019, dropped beyond 33,000 to the dollar, though it had clawed back some ground to around 27,200 by Friday.

Before the crisis, which has driven a significant proportion of residents into poverty, it traded at 1,500 to the dollar.

In response to the sharp decline, the central bank said it was removing a ceiling related to bank purchases of dollars using the official Sayrafa exchange rate platform.

"This initiative aims at curbing the volatility of the exchange market and aims at strengthening the pound's value against the dollar," bank Governor Riad Salameh told Reuters, "...The operation consists of decreasing the amount of bank notes in Lebanese pounds."

Salameh also said there had been "signs of manipulation of the prices of the dollar to the pound," without giving details.

One analyst has described the central bank move as like taking "a Panadol pill to treat a major crisis", saying the government needed a