The Lebanese pound has continued to slump on Monday, hovering between 9,600 and 9,650 to the dollar on the black market, according to local media.

The pound remains pegged to the dollar at 1,507.5, but that rate which was fixed by the central bank of Lebanon remains available only for imports of wheat, medicine and fuel.

Lebanese banks had raised the exchange rate to 3,850 pounds per dollar for withdrawals from US dollar accounts as a liquidity crunch erodes the currency’s value.

The Syndicate of Money Exchangers in Lebanon pegged the pound at a price hovering between 3,850 and 3,900 to the dollar.

An unprecedented financial crisis in Lebanon has resulted in severe devaluation of the country’s currency where the pound has lost more than 80% of its value in relation to the US dollar.

This new slump comes as the country is struggling from a scarcity of liquidity which has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 global pandemic.