Pound Up Slightly as Govt. Impasse Continues

The Lebanese pound was up slightly on Saturday, trading at LL18,550 to the dollar on the black market.

Exchange dealers said they were buying the dollar at LL18,575 and selling it at LL18,625, slightly up from Friday when the pound fell dramatically to LL18,900 after rising for three consecutive days.

The plunge came after hopes of a breakthrough in cabinet talks were dashed on Thursday night, when reports emerged of a dispute between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati. The two are struggling to resolve issues over the allocation of cabinet posts and ministerial portfolios. Lebanon has been managed by a caretaker government since August 2020, and is grappling with an economic crisis that has seen the pound lose 90 percent of its value, pushing well over half the population into poverty.