The Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, issued a statement outlining how to deal with the US dollar and its exchange rate for the upcoming period. The statement included the following points:
1. The Central Bank will intervene as a seller of cash US dollars and a buyer of cash Lebanese lira at a rate of 70,000 L.L. per dollar starting tomorrow, Thursday, March 2, 2023.
2. The Central Bank will meet the full demand resulting from the sale of Lebanese lira by companies and individuals.
3. Requests should be submitted through the banks and registered via the Sayrafa platform, to be settled within three working days.
4. The monthly limit for individuals is set at one billion Lebanese lira per account in each bank.
5. The limit for companies is set at ten billion Lebanese lira in each bank.
6. This procedure does not apply to fuel importers.
7. The Sayrafa platform price is set at 70,000 L.L. per dollar.
8. Salaries and compensations for the public sector for the month of February will be at the Sayrafa rate of 45,400 L.L. per dollar on March 1, 2023.
9. This decision will be effective starting March 2, 2023, and will remain in effect until further notice.
10. Banks will stop purchasing dollars for their customers with a ceiling of $300 per month until further notice.
11. Circular 161 regarding public sector salaries will remain in effect.
12. The Central Bank will continue to pay cash dollars that were sold before this statement and have not yet been settled.
