Today, September 30, Lebanon’s Central Bank (BDL) decided to continue to abide by Circular No. 161 which allows local banks to sell dollars to depositors at the Sayrafa rate.
The Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL) tries through circular No. 162 to get the dollar rate in the black market under control by withdrawing the Lebanese pounds from the market and pumping out dollars.
However, circular No.161 has dramatically failed to enhance the dollar supply and stabilize the dollar exchange rate in the black market, which exceeded 38,000 L.L for each U.S dollar as of Friday, September 30.
In addition, circular No.161 and Sayrafa paved the way for traders to take advantage of the crisis, as economic researcher Professor Jassim Ajaqa told Skynews Arabia.
“Traders and money changers took advantage of that (Sayrafa platform and circular No.161) and bought dollars on an exchange platform and sold them at the black market price and more than that under the pretext of protecting themselves.”
The decision to continue to abide by Circular No.161 comes as the remaining reserves in the Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL) have reached less than $9.75 billion.
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