Lebanese pound crashes to new low of 50,000 against the dollar
Lebanese pound crashes to new low of 50,000 against the dollar
The crash has already affected the price of daily goods and fuels across Lebanon, where 80 percent of the population now live in poverty.
2 min read
The Lebanese national currency has never dropped this far against the dollar before [Getty images]
The Lebanese pound crashed to a record low on Thursday, trading at over 50,000 to the US dollar.
The price of dollars on the Lebanese black market reached 50,100 LBP - having an immediate knock-on effect on the price of basic goods and necessities, many of which are purchased in dollars in Lebanon.
The population typically relies on black-market currency values.
Lebanon's economy has been in free fall for three years, with the pound nosediving and the vast majority of the population now plunged into poverty.
Fuel prices spiked on Thursday with petrol, diesel, and gas hitting unprecedented highs, adding to the financial woes of the Lebanese population, who are struggling to meet even the most basic needs.
The price of standard grade 95-octane petrol rose by 26,000 pounds, reaching 862,000 per tank.
Diesel rose by even more hitting 917,000 LBP, while domestic gas canisters now cost 548,000 pounds across Lebanon.
"Trust has been completely lost in the banks and their officials, up to central bank chief Riad Salameh - and there is no sense of optimism," the head of the Lebanese gas distributors syndicate, Farid Zeinoun, told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
Investigators from three European countries began questioning officials in Lebanon's banking sector in Beirut this week, as part of an anti-corruption probe into the wealth of central bank governor Riad Salameh.
Many blame Salameh, who has presided over Lebanon’s financial system for the past three decades, for the financial collapse of 2019 and the country's continuing economic woes.
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