According to a central bank statement, Lebanon’s central bank on Friday extended a circular allowing banks to buy an unlimited number of US dollars on its Sayrafa exchange platform until the end of October.
The official exchange rate of 1.507 pounds to a dollar will be changed on Wednesday, the finance ministry of Lebanon announced, calling this a step toward harmonising several prices that have formed during Lebanon’s three-year financial crisis.
However, after announcing that it would go into effect on November 1, the ministry then tied the action to the ratification of a financial recovery plan, the most recent iteration of which is being debated in parliament.
Since the recovery plan, which must address a $72 billion deficit in the national budget, has been under debate since 2019, several economists and lawmakers regarded this as a government retreat.
The market value of the pound has decreased by more than 95% since Lebanon’s financial crisis, which has forced large segments of the people into poverty, and is now valued at 38,000 to the dollar.
