On the eve of the end of 2022, the exchange rate of the US dollar surged uncontrollably, nearing 50,000 Lebanese pounds at a rapid pace. This prompted the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, to make two critical decisions announced this afternoon, aimed at curbing the rise of the dollar in the black market and shielding citizens from further increases in costs and prices, which accompany the rise in the exchange rate. According to the aforementioned decisions, the price of the dollar on the "Sayrafa" platform was set at 38,000 L.L., clarifying that the Central Bank will sell dollars at this rate in exchange for Lebanese pounds to individuals and institutions, without a cap on the value of transactions. However, this measure taken by Salameh, despite its importance and feasibility, is not everlasting but is "until further notice..." "Nothing is permanent today... not even the country and everyone within it," says a financial source to "Al-Markaziah," hinting that "Lebanon is open to many fateful possibilities in all its aspects, in light of the inevitability of an extended presidential vacuum and a caretaker government that is not looking towards the impending currency and financial collapse and does not care about the fate of a populace threatened by hunger and poverty!" In this context, it is noted that "no one but Governor Salameh took the initiative to rein in the rogue dollar in a black market controlled by speculators who have mastered manipulating the exchange rate to its peak... but they received a significant blow today with the issuance of the central bank governor's decision, knowing that they had achieved astronomical profits that spared them heavy losses." He continues: "Today, the Governor of the Central Bank issued two circulars to curb the rise of the dollar in the black market, which made the Lebanese people happy, and their happiness will last for a few days until midnight on December 31, 2022, when it will leap again at the start of 2023, just as it did at the end of the previous year." "The only one who moves from nothing is Riad Salameh, whether we like it or not..." says the financial source, pointing out that "the Governor of the Central Bank does not create miracles but rather initiates solutions, even if temporary and immediate, to curb the madness of the black market dollar to protect citizens, while the government has not moved a muscle and has remained a bystander on the exchange rate nearing 50,000 L.L."
He concludes by asserting that the parallel market will remain in its speculations even if the official exchange rate is implemented on the basis of 15,000 L.L. starting February 2023, which will benefit state institutions alone so that they do not continue to collect their dues at an exchange rate of 1,500 L.L., thus there will be multiple exchange rates for the US dollar against the Lebanese pound... Unfortunately, the dollar price will remain without a ceiling.
