Two people holding bundles of Lebanese liras and US dollars. (Joseph Eid/AFP)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese lira continued on Friday morning its depreciation on the parallel market, trading at more than LL35,000 against the dollar.
Here's what we know:
• According to the Lirarate.org platform, the dollar was worth LL35,450 to buy and LL35,350 to sell, as of 10:54 am. The gap between this rate and that of the Sayrafa platform (LBP 27,400), designed by the Banque du Liban to try to stabilize the exchange rate, continues to widen, now amounting to more than LL8,000.
• The steep depreciation of Lebanon's national currency comes after the government had reached a preliminary agreement earlier this year with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which advocated the introduction of a floating exchange rate. The agreement also stipulates other reforms the Lebanese government must make in order to unlock a massive financial assistance package from the IMF.