Wall Street stocks rose early Friday, extending a recent positive run for the market following U.S. data that suggested inflation is moderating.

The unofficial dollar exchange rate dropped from a record high of LBP 38,000 to at least LBP 34,300 on Friday, immediately after Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh issued a statement saying banks would resume exchange operations at the Sayrafa platform rate as of Monday.

In a statement addressed to “all the holders of Lebanese pounds, be them citizens or institutions, who want to exchange them for U.S. dollars,” Salameh said exchange requests can be submitted to Lebanese banks as of Monday.

President Michel Aoun on Friday signed a decree forming the "National Council for Pricing Policy", which is being formed for the first time since a decision was taken to form it in 1974, the Presidency said.

The Council is “a national par excellence council that comprises all the relevant parties from the official administrations and the associations of the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers that represent the various segments of the Lebanese society,” the Presidency added.

China's premier called for more to be done to stabilize the world's second-largest economy, issuing an unusually stark warning as the country's zero-Covid strategy bites into growth.

The Lebanese pound hit a new low against the U.S. dollar on the black market Thursday after a sharp drop that coincided with May 15 parliamentary elections.

The dollar exchange rate crossed LBP 34,000 on the black market on Tuesday, marking a new record high in the country’s history.

The dollar was selling for LBP 34,100 at 3:30 pm according to exchange rate apps.

A United Arab Emirates company signed a contract with the Taliban authorities Tuesday to provide ground handling services at Afghanistan's three airports, officials said, as the country seeks to resume international transit.

Capital Kabul's only airport was trashed in August when tens of thousands of people rushed to evacuate as the US-led forces withdrew.

Nine Lebanese banks are shutting down their operations on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, a representative of the Cyprus Central Bank said on Tuesday.

The banks will close their branches on the island within a period of time that will allow them to wind down operations in an orderly fashion, said the representative, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he's not allowed to discuss the matter publicly.

President Joe Biden launched a new trade deal with 12 Indo-Pacific nations Monday aimed at strengthening their economies as he warned Americans worried about high inflation that it is "going to be a haul" before they feel relief. The president said he does not believe an economic recession is inevitable in the U.S.

Biden, speaking at a news conference after holding talks with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, acknowledged the U.S. economy has "problems" but said they were "less consequential than the rest of the world has."

Turkey is ready for energy cooperation with Israel after years of enmity, reviving a project to pipe Israeli gas to Europe as Ankara seeks to reduce its dependence on Russia.

But the plan faces Israeli skepticism over past diplomatic tensions and seems a pipe dream in the eyes of experts due to its logistical complexity and cost.