Lebanon’s coronavirus lockdown piles pressure on flagging currency – The National

Lebanon’s coronavirus lockdown piles pressure on flagging currency – The National

Lebanon's coronavirus lockdown piles pressure on flagging currency. The battered Lebanese pound has weakened even more during a coronavirus lockdown, with banks blocking access to already scarce dollars, forcing up their price on the black market and the cost of imports the heavily indebted country relies on.. Since the government declared a medical emergency on March 15, Lebanon's cash-strapped banks have limited their services to critical imports and paying out salaries in local currency while opening only a handful of branches.. The pound has since tumbled about 15 per cent, trading at around 2,850 pounds per dollar on Wednesday compared with about 2,500 before the shutdown, importers and currency dealers said.. "There's less and less cash available in the market, and this is one of the reasons why the black market rate is increasing," said Hani Bohsali, general manager of Bohsali Foods, a major food importer.. The government had sought in recent weeks to crack down on foreign exchange bureaus selling above an agreed rate of 2,000 pounds per dollar, with some shut down and others turning away customers seeking higher rates, making dollars more elusive.. Banks have now halted withdrawals which they had already capped at as little as