The Lebanese pound fell to a new low against the dollar, with Lebanese banks closing their doors and returning to strike action.
On Saturday, the exchange rate on the black market exceeded 90,000 pounds per dollar, according to data from the lira rate platform concerned with the exchange rate in the parallel market.
Muhammad Tarabay, an economic analyst at Zawya Arabi, a lecturer and head of the Department of Financial and Economic Sciences at Rafic Hariri University in Lebanon, said that in light of the threat of a re-strike of banks, and the inability of the Central Bank to pump the amount of dollars agreed upon to banks, “therefore, the dollar will certainly rise or decrease.” lira”.
The Lebanese banks intend to strike starting on Tuesday, March 14th, shortly after suspending a strike that began more than a month ago.
Banks in Lebanon were suspended – at the request of Prime Minister Najib Mikati – for a period of strike that had begun in early February due to the increasing legal measures against them during the financial collapse in Lebanon, which led to the deprivation of most depositors of their savings in banks.
Commercial banks in Lebanon are living in a difficult situation in light of the economic crisis that began more than 3 years ago and prompted banks to impose restrictions on withdrawing deposits.
As tensions escalate between depositors who are unable to withdraw their deposits in foreign currencies since the Central Bank imposed restrictions on withdrawals, and concern increased after Fadi Khalaf, Secretary-General of the Association of Lebanese Banks, said last week that Lebanese banks do not have enough liquidity to pay depositors’ money.
Depositors demanded over the past year to withdraw their money by force from a number of banks, and the anger of dozens of depositors reached its peak last month, when a number of Lebanese demonstrated on February 16 in front of some Lebanese banks whose doors were already closed as a result of the strike called for by the Association of Banks.
(Prepared by: Shaima Hefzy, contact zawya.arabic@lseg.com)
#economic news
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