Lebanese currency sinks to new record low

Beirut, May 25 (IANS) The Lebanese pound has sank to a new historic low on the parallel market amid the country's unprecedented financial crisis, local media reported.

The exchange rate of the Lebanese pound declined to 34,000 against the US dollar on Tuesday, down from the previously record low of 30,000 against the dollar less than a week ago, reported the Elnashra news website.

Mahassen Moursel, a researcher in financial crimes, told Xinhua news agency the surging demand for dollars among Lebanese importers triggered the latest plunge of the Lebanese pound.

Lebanese import companies, facing surging commodity prices in the global market, resorted to buying dollars from the black market to finance their business as commercial banks only supplied them with 20 per cent of the needed amounts, according to Moursel.

"Political instability in the country also weighed heavily on the price of the local currency, not to forget the judicial accusations against the central bank governor which led to a loss of confidence in the banking sector," she added.

Lebanon has been facing an unprecedented financial crisis in the past years amid a shortage of the US dollars caused by the political instability and deteriorating economy, Xinhua news agency reported.