Demand from Syria for dollar among factors deteriorating Lebanese currency

Since the dollar rose again and crossed the threshold of 46,000 Liras, talk escalated about buying dollars for the benefit of the Syrian economy, specifically from the money exchangers in Chtoura, but these deny this case altogether.

Monetary sources confirm the purchase of dollars for sending to Syria. These sources said that the Lebanese monetary mass is still the same size, about 75 thousand billion Liras, since the beginning of this month.

Therefore there is no more liquidity in Liras to be used to buy Dollars, explaining that dollar purchases are made directly with the Syrian pound or after converting it into Lebanese pounds and that the scene of these operations is in the Bekaa Valley.

These sources do not attribute the reason for the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar to this reason alone, as they confirm that local hedging is still going on.

The most important thing is the continuous deterioration in the political situation, given that no president and functioning government are present to set a monetary and fiscal policy in coordination with the central bank. 

Sources revealed that BDL is not currently interfering in the market to limit the dollar's rise, as it does not want to intervene with a number of dollars, with no guarantee that it will remain in Lebanon. Still, the Central Bank may choose an appropriate time to move in this direction that contributes to curbing the rapid rise. Sources also denied that the Central Bank is currently one of the entities participating in purchasing the dollar from the market. If that had happened, the dollar would have recorded higher rates.

Moreover, it cannot be overlooked that the volume of imports in Lebanon reached in the first 11 months of this year 17.8 billion dollars, which is a very high number compared to the situation in which Lebanon is currently living noting that the highest number that Lebanon had recorded in the field of imports had reached $19 billion before the start of the financial and economic collapse.

Also, the factors that contributed to the demand for the dollar and its high price is the payment of workers' dues in the public sector after the 3-fold increase and securing them in Lebanese pounds. 

The money exchangers state that there is no offer for the dollar and that as soon as the owners of dollars hear that the price trend is upward, they stop selling their dollars or are satisfied with selling what is necessary only. Still, when the talk begins that the price is going down, the dollar offer process returns to normal.

Some money changers say that the demand for the dollar has increased due to the increased demand from banks and the fuel market. Still, the banks deny this trend and state that they buy the dollar through a banking platform from Banque du Liban. The fuel sector confirms that its demand for the dollar has not increased. The daily need is still what it is, about $20 million for gasoline and diesel fuel.