Lebanese pound hits new record low

The Lebanese pound’s market value hit a record low against the dollar Monday, as the cash-strapped country plunges further into financial and political turmoil three years after its economy collapsed.

The pound sank further as the country, led by a caretaker government, heads into presidential elections next month with a divided parliament that has repeatedly failed to reach a consensus on a new leader.

The pound’s market value fell to over 40,000 to the greenback, according to money exchangers who spoke to AFP, after it had stabilised at around 38,000 for weeks.

The Lebanese pound has been officially pegged at 1,507 to the dollar since 1997, a rate that has not reflected its true market value for years as the currency has been in free fall, with multiple parallel exchange rates coexisting.

After years of economic mismanagement and endemic corruption, Lebanon sunk into an unprecedented financial crisis in late 2019, dubbed by the World Bank as one of the world’s worst in recent history.