On Friday morning, the black-market remained stable ranging between 20,650 Lebanese pounds for purchase and 20,600 LBP for sale.
In this regard, the Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh announced in a statement on February 23 that the Central Council agreed to extend Circular No. 161 until the end of March 2022, and this circular is subject to renewal.
Salameh confirmed that dealing in US dollar banknotes against Lebanese pound banknotes continues with banks without a specific ceiling on the price of the “Sayrafa” platform.
The rating agency “Moody’s” had previously announced that “the Central Bank’s recent decision, to sell fresh dollars at Sayrafa’s exchange rate, will not achieve long-term stability in the exchange rate, and will not change the inflation levels, amid the absence of any financing agreement with the International Monetary Fund stipulated with a comprehensive debt restructuring.”
The Lebanese pound has lost more than 93 percent of its value since summer 2019, when it began breaking away from the exchange rate of 1,500 LBP to the dollar, which has been pegged since 1997.