Lebanon central bank sets new exchange rate for essential food industries

The Lebanese central bank will provide foreign currency at a fixed exchange rate of 3,900 Lebanese pounds per dollar for importers and manufacturers of essential food items, it said on Monday.

The central bank “will secure the necessary amounts in foreign currency to meet the needs of importers and manufacturers of essential food items and raw materials used in food industries ... at the fixed rate of 3,900 pounds per dollar,” it said in a statement.

The Lebanese pound has lost around 80 percent of its value since October on a parallel market where one dealer gave exchange rates of 9,000/9,500 on Monday. The official exchange rate remains 1,507.5 pounds per dollar, the central bank said.

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