The dollar exchange rate dropped from LBP 40,600 to 36,000 on the black market overnight, shortly after Central Bank Governor Riad Salamah said in a statement that the Central Bank would stop buying dollars on the Sayrafa platform as of Tuesday.
The unofficial exchange rate later surged to LBP 37,000.
“The Banque du Liban (Central Bank) will exclusively sell U.S. dollars via the Sayrafa platform as of Tuesday, knowing that it will not purchase dollars on the Sayrafa platform from Tuesday until further announcement,” Salameh said in his statement.
Asharq al-Awsat newspaper meanwhile reported Monday that “Lebanon’s financial markets are expecting important developments this week, which have the ability to create significant changes on the financial scene, especially as to the lira exchange rate and the rate of withdrawals from U.S. dollar savings, in addition to paving the way practically for the banking sector restructuring plan.”
Quoting informed sources who are following up on the developments, the daily said that the Central Bank intends to issue a wave of new circulars as of the middle of this week.
The circulars “will especially stipulate lowering the national currency’s official value and will specify its impact on withdrawals from deposits and banks’ balance sheets,” the sources said.
“It will take effect in concurrence with the start of the implementation of the customs dollar rate in early November, after it was raised by around ten folds from LBP 1,507 to LBP 15,000,” the newspaper added.
It also said that the rate of withdrawals in Lebanese pound from dollar accounts would be raised from the current LBP 8,000 while the monthly caps would be lowered.