In Lebanon: Actual Reserves Only 8 Billion Dollars

Writer Mohamed Wahba, in an article for Al-Akhbar newspaper, citing informed sources, indicated that the total remaining foreign currency reserves at the Central Bank of Lebanon do not exceed 8 billion dollars after accounting for unpaid arrears, which is about 4 billion dollars less than the reported figure (12 billion dollars) in the Central Bank's balance sheet. The problem does not only lie in the low value of the reserves but also in the increasing demand for them from importers of food, medicine, fuel, and wheat. The prices of these goods are rising globally, and purchasing them has become difficult due to the increasing demand in anticipation of a prolonged Russian-Ukrainian crisis.