By CORNELIA MEYER — Arabnews.com — LONDON: Over the past two weeks the Lebanese pound has lost more than 20 percent of its value against the dollar on the black market. Since October 2019 the exchange rate has plummeted by 90 percent, affecting everyone in the country. These numbers are stark. On March 16 three money changers told the AFP news agency they were buying dollars for 14,800 to 14,900 Lebanese pounds. The currency is pegged to the dollar and the official rate is set at 1,507.5 pounds to one dollar. However, dollars are generally unavailable at the official rate because of the economic crisis, which is why black-market rates apply. In 2020, Lebanon was the fourth most-indebted country in the world behind Japan, Greece and Eritrea. In March last year, the country defaulted on its international debt for the first time in its history. Since then, there have been no economic reforms and no payment plans agreed.

The situation is exacerbated by the banking crisis and the effects of the pandemic. The nation’s banks face bankruptcy, having lent up to 70 percent of their assets to an insolvent state and central bank. The country has lost its creditworthiness and is resorting to printing more, increasingly worthless, money which is further fueling inflation. The depreciation of the pound resulted in staggering inflation of 84 percent in 2020. To make matters worse, food inflation stood at 402 percent. Meanwhile Lebanon’s gross domestic product contracted by 25 percent last year. The World Bank estimates that 50 percent of Lebanon’s population has slipped below the poverty line, which is mind-boggling in a country that 60 years ago was known as the “Switzerland of the Middle East.” The economic situation is worse now than it was during the civil war in the 1970s and 1980s. What we see in Lebanon is a classic vicious circle: the worse the economy gets, the more the currency depreciates and vice versa. The numbers reflect a defunct economy.

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Hezbollah has walked away from a previous agreement to form a Lebanese government of nonpolitical specialists, claiming that any leadership not backed by political forces “will go down in a week or two.” The militant party’s change of tack has shattered hopes that an 18th meeting between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri scheduled for next Monday would end the long-running stalemate over the formation of the government. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s comments, made in a televised address on Thursday, also undermine French efforts launched by President Emmanuel Macron to form a government free of political forces in order to gain the confidence of the international community and help Lebanon recover from its crippling economic and health crisis. Mustafa Alloush, a leading figure in Hariri’s Future Movement, said: “There is a chance to agree on the formation of the government on Monday, but Hariri has no intention of bringing back a political government because it will inevitably fail, based on previous experience.”

Aoun remained firm in his demands for a government of 20 ministers with the blocking third, while Hariri seeks a government of 18 specialists. The disagreement between the two escalated on Wednesday after an exchange of statements, with Aoun calling on Hariri to step down if is unable to form a government. Hariri responded by asking Aoun to set a date for early presidential elections. Hopes that Monday’s meeting could end the political impasse lifted the Lebanese pound to 11,500 against the US dollar after it had earlier exceeded 15,000 on the black market. However, the currency lost value again on Friday after Nasrallah’s address. In his speech, the Hezbollah chief criticized the International Monetary Fund, on which Lebanon relies for assistance, and attacked calls for Lebanon’s neutrality, saying that these were part of efforts to include the country in the “US-Israeli axis in the region.” Nasrallah also targeted the policies of Lebanese central bank Gov. Riad Salameh, warning him of the need to improve the dollar exchange rate.

The Daily Star — BEIRUT: The Lebanese pound rose on the black market Thursday, trading at LL11,950 against the dollar, on reports the country’s top two leaders would meet soon in a bid to revive efforts to form a new government. Exchange dealers were selling the dollar for LL12,000 and buying it for LL11,900, compared […]

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s prime minister-designate said Thursday that a government that could restart talks with the International Monetary Fund was the only way to halt the country’s rapid economic collapse, adding there was still opportunity to form such a Cabinet. Saad Hariri spoke a day after trading barbs with President Michel Aoun over who […]

by Naharnet — Lebanese stood in queues in their vehicles on Wednesday as the country witnessed a gradual increase in gasoline prices, one of Lebanon’s multiple plights bringing the country to its knees amid total political failure to address an almost two-year crisis. Frustrated Lebanese queued at petrol stations across the country and lines of […]

BEIRUT (AP) Sarah el Deeb  — Lebanon’s president called Wednesday on the prime minister-designate to form a government immediately or step aside as the country plunges deeper into economic crisis. In turn, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri swiftly challenged President Michel Aoun to step down — a sign of a prolonged political crisis. The intractable political battle comes against the backdrop of an economic crash that is proving to be the most serious challenge to the small country’s stability since its 15-year civil war ended in 1990. In a televised statement Wednesday, Aoun said that Cabinet lists proposed by Hariri, who was named to the post of premier last October, did not meet the minimum requirements needed to preserve national accord.

Aoun urged Hariri to meet him at the presidential palace and work together on forming a government or step aside if they cannot agree. The call seems an attempt to deflect blame for months-long political battle in which both sides have traded accusations of obstruction. In response, Hariri tweeted that he was surprised by the president’s televised invitation and instead urged Aoun to approve Hariri’s last list, which he described as consisting of experts and not political nominees. Hariri also called on Aoun to spare the Lebanese more suffering by allowing early presidential elections, and challenging him to spell out why he has so far declined all Cabinets proposed by the premier-designate.

By Najia Houssari — arabnews ––  The dollar exchange rate in the Lebanese black market has lost its ceiling, as the pound jumped on Tuesday from 13,000 to 15,000 against the US dollar. Angry protestors took to the streets and forced owners of grocery stores to close, while others voluntarily decided to close and announced that “they will remain closed until further notice and until all this dollar madness stops.” Bakery owners threatened to stop making bread, gas station owners threatened to stop selling. Turmoil prevailed on Tuesday, where protesters closed roads in Beirut. The impasses reached Bliss Street across the American University of Beirut and the upscale Koraytem neighborhood. Protestors burned tires near the Banque Du Liban and other banks and broke the facades of grocery stores. Roads linking main regions in Lebanon were blocked, including those in the southern city of Naqoura. In Tripoli, protestors headed to politicians’ houses and smashed their security cameras.

Working mothers also took to the streets, along with their children, and protested outside the Serail government building in Nabatiyeh, south Lebanon. Ilda Mazraani said: “We are women working both in the private and public sectors. Our salaries have collapsed, and our concerns have increased.” She urged politicians to “act fast to address this deterioration and save the country and the future of our children.” A copy of a document issued by the Lebanese General Security circulated on social media about “the possibility of an escalation in the streets that can reach armed operations targeting the houses of politicians.” The document added: “Information indicates that chaos, subversion, and the use of arms in the streets will prevail, as well as looting and scores’ settling under the pretext of the dramatic increase of the dollar exchange rate and the rising cost of living in implementation of political agendas, which can all break out at any moment now.”

By NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews — BEIRUT: Lebanese supermarkets halted sales and businesses closed their doors on Saturday as the country’s embattled currency slumped to a record low on the black market. With the dollar exchange rate exceeding 12,000 Lebanese pounds, panic erupted on the streets as shopkeepers and major outlets stopped selling goods to avoid incurring losses. Amid growing alarm at the country’s increasingly precarious state, activists in working-class areas in Mount Lebanon climbed the minarets of mosques and called on people to take to the streets. A spokesperson for the Oct. 17 revolution said: “We will stay in the squares until the corrupt system falls.” Hundreds of protesters in Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut pounded on metal barriers blocking access to parliament and hurled rocks at security forces manning roadblocks. Anti-riot personnel launched tear-gas grenades after violent clashes erupted between protesters and security forces.

In the past three days, Lebanon’s currency has endured a roller-coaster ride, rising to 9,000 Lebanese pounds against the dollar before falling to 10,000 Lebanese pounds. But in a dramatic collapse on Saturday, the Lebanese pound fell from 11,750 to 12,200 against the dollar, with the slump worsening by the hour despite efforts to close online trading platforms. Economist Louis Hobeika told Arab News: “The strong demand for the dollar is caused by the decline in confidence in the country. People are panicking about the future.” Hobeika rejected the idea that banks are buying up dollars. “The dollar trading volume in the Lebanese market does not exceed $2.5 million. The banks want to increase their capital on the request of the Banque du Liban collectively and need $3.5 billion — and this cannot be secured from the Lebanese market.”

MOSCOW (Sputnik ) Lebanon’s ongoing Currency meltdown has impacted the country’s foodstuff market, with cheaper foreign brands and domestically-manufactured goods rising to prominence on the shelves of local shops, the head of the Lebanese Syndicate of Importers of Foodstuff, Hani Bohsali, told Sputnik. “Importing brands with good value for money from Turkey or Greece or […]

by AP — Lebanon’s currency plummeted to a new record low on Saturday, continuing its crash amid a worsening economic crisis that has triggered near-daily protests throughout the tiny country. Among the Saturday afternoon protests was a small one near parliament, where riot police fired tear gas to disperse scores of young men throwing stones […]