Lebanese pound 'reaches record low', exceeds 74,000 to the dollar on black market

The Lebanese pound (lira) reached a record low against the dollar on the black market on Tuesday, according to reports, reaching 74,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar.  

Earlier in the day, the Lebanese pound initially recorded an average price of 71,200 for purchase and 71,800 for sale according to the 'Lira Aggregator' application that calculates average trading rates, The New Arab’s Arabic service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

The pound was trading at over 56,000 LBP to the US dollar on the black market just three weeks ago, which was a 10,000-LBP decrease from the week before.

The low comes after the official value of the Lebanese pound drastically changed on 1 February from its pegged value of 1,507 to 15,000 against the dollar.

Lebanon's currency had been officially pegged to the US dollar since 1997, but an almost 90 percent official devaluation has proved a shocking blow amid a years-long economic crisis in the country.

Lebanon's finance ministry had announced last year that it would roll out the 15,000 official exchange rate in November, but the move was not implemented.

The country's economic crisis has seen poverty rates climb to more than 80 percent, according to the United Nations.

Lebanon is being run by a caretaker government and has been without a head of state since Michel Aoun’s term ended on 31 October due to deep political divisions between the country's political factions.