The Bank of Lebanon has reportedly indicated that it will provide local banks with dollars at the opening rate of its Sayrafa electronic platform, ie 12,000 LL / USD, from next Friday until next Tuesday.
As a reminder, Lebanese banks unilaterally implemented capital controls in November 2019, due to shortages of greenbacks. Very quickly, the withdrawal of dollars was only authorized for so-called “fresh” accounts, ie whose dollars were subsequently transferred to Lebanon. In addition, the dollarization rate of accounts has reached a record 83%, or more than $ 100 billion, for the time being unavailable for the recovery of the economy due to
This could be a new operational test of this platform, but which has so far had no impact on the price of the Lebanese pound against the dollar on the black market.
For now, parity on the black market remains at the threshold of 13,000 LL / USD; with an exchange rate on the purchase of 12,650 LL / USD and on the sale of 12,700 LL / USD.
As a reminder, the new Sayrafa platform now includes commercial banks in addition to the Banque du Liban and official stockbrokers.
However, questions still concern the origin of the foreign currencies that will be injected into this market, while the monetary reserves of the Bank of Lebanon are almost exhausted.
