The Lebanese currency plummeted on the black market Thursday after the central bank raised the exchange rate for US dollar deposits held in the country’s banks. “The central bank… has decided to raise the exchange rate for US dollars from 3,900 to 8,000 Lebanese pounds,” it said in a statement. This new parallel rate affects dollar deposits that have been trapped in Lebanese banks by a capital controls policy that prevents people from withdrawing their savings. Depositors will now be allowed to withdraw limited amounts of their dollar deposits in Lebanese pounds at double the previous rate. …

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