Lira reaches LL37,000 to $1USD on the parallel market

BEIRUT — The Lebanese lira dropped another LL1,000 to LL37,000 to the US dollar.

Here’s what we know:

    • The online platform lirarate.org indicated a buy price of LL37,000 and a selling price of LL36,950 for one US dollar.

    • The gap between the parallel market rate and the BDL platform Sayrafa rate (LL24,600 as of Thursday night) continues to widen, surpassing LL12,400 at the time of writing.

    • The lira’s slide in value interrupts a cycle of relative stability which lasted for almost a month during which the lira-to-US dollar rate fluctuated between LL25,000 and LL27,000. The plummeting value is attributed to speculators betting against the lira in the face of the economic crisis, banking restrictions and political uncertainty.

    • The continuing depreciation in value since the start of the crisis in 2019 has pushed more than three-quarters of Lebanese citizens under the poverty line and decimated their purchasing power. The lira continues to depreciate despite a preliminary agreement between Lebanon and the International Monetary Fund which would allocate $3 billion over a four-year period to help Lebanon deal with its multiple crises. The IMF had supplied a plan detailing the necessary reforms which the Lebanese government would need to undertake to unblock the aid funds.