Head of the Lebanese Central Bank, Riad Salameh, issued on Tuesday a statement which indicated that the exchange rate of the US dollar rose 2000 L.L. on the black market during the holidays as a result of the speculation operations and cases of smuggling the fresh dollars from Lebanon to other countries, adding that this has worsened inflation and debilitated the citizen’s purchase power.

Salameh added that, based on the Articles 75 and 83 of the Monetary and Credit Law, the Central Bank decided raising the US dollar exchange rate via Sayrafa platform to LBP 38,000.

The statement added that Banque du Liban will buy all the Lebanese pounds and sell the dollar at the Sayrafa price of LBP 38,000, noting that individuals and institutions, without sum limits, can apply at all Lebanese banks to pass these operations, until further notice.

As a result of this statement, the exchange rate of the US dollar on the black market decreased remarkably from lBP 47800 to LBP 43000 in the morning before it increased in the afternoon to LBP 45000. This fluctuation continued later as the rate witnessed a new decrease to record  LBP 44200.

Source: Al-Manar English Website