Lebanon’s Central Bank (BDL) will adopt an exchange rate of $1 = 15,000LL as of February 1, 2023, the Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh stated on Monday.
This move will be an attempt to unify Lebanon’s multiple exchange-rate systems.
The official rate went from $1 = 1,500LL to around LBP 40,000 LL in the parallel/black market since 2019.
The BDL would then have two rates: 15,000 LL and another rate set by the Sayrafa exchange platform at around 30,000 LL.
Salameh added that they trying to manage the crisis while also facing many challenges beyond the scope of Banque du Liban.
Highlighting that the most important event that happened was the cessation of the payment of foreign bonds, which largely isolated Lebanon from the financial markets and made it difficult for foreign currencies, including the U.S. dollar, to enter the country.
