Lebanon devalues currency by 90% starting February 1

Lebanon devalues currency by 90% starting February 1

BEIRUT-

Lebanon will adopt a new official exchange rate of 15,000 pounds per US dollar starting February 1, Central Bank governor Riad Salameh said, marking a 90% devaluation from its current official rate that has remained unchanged for 25 years.

The shift from the old rate of 1,507 to 15,000 is still far off the parallel market, where the pound was changing hands at around 57,000 per dollar on Tuesday.