Salameh: LBP 15,000 exchange rate to be applied as of February

The official exchange rate for the Lebanese lira against the dollar and circulars 151 and 158 of the central bank will be hiked to LBP 15,000 as of February 1, 2023, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh has confirmed.

Circular 151 currently allows depositors to withdraw funds from their trapped dollar savings at a rate of LBP 8,000. Circular 158 meanwhile gives them the ability to monthly withdraw $400 in cash money and the equivalent of $400 in Lebanese lira based on an exchange rate of LBP 12,000.

“Today we have entered a phase of unifying exchange rates and this had started with the ‘customs dollar’ that the Finance Ministry is deciding about along with the other fees and taxes,” Salameh said in an interview on al-Hurra TV.

“The circulars will remain in force unless the capital control law is voted into effect. We will then cancel all these circulars and become governed by the capital control law,” Salameh added.