Lebanon currency hits new low

Lebanon currency hits new low

The pound plunged to 38,600 against the greenback on Monday, according to websites monitoring the exchange rate

For decades, the Lebanese pound was pegged at 1,507 to the dollar, meaning that it has lost around 95 per cent of its black market value since 2019. — File photo

By AFP Published: Mon 19 Sep 2022, 5:49 PM

The Lebanese pound fell to a new low against the US dollar on the black market Monday as a severe economic downturn has sparked bank hold-ups by angry depositors and anti-government protests.

Recent weeks have seen a spate of incidents in which people armed with real or toy guns held up banks to demand access to their frozen savings, only to be celebrated as folk heroes.

Amid the turmoil, the pound plunged to 38,600 against the greenback on Monday, according to websites monitoring the exchange rate, a record low for the beleaguered currency.

For decades, the Lebanese pound was pegged at 1,507 to the dollar, meaning that it has lost around 95 per cent of its black market value since 2019.

At the Justice Palace in Beirut on Monday, dozens stormed through a metal gate outside to protest the detention of two people involved in last week’s bank hold-ups.

Elsewhere, activists