BEIRUT, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's central bank launched on Friday an electronic foreign currency trading platform to stabilize the exchange rate of U.S. dollar to the Lebanese pound, a statement by Banque Du Liban (BDL) reported.
Named "Sayrafa," the application allows BDL to set the daily foreign currency buying and selling rates on the app every day early in the morning.
Exchange shops must buy and sell foreign currencies at the rate specified by the central bank.
The statement noted that BDL has nothing to do with the black market where the U.S. dollar is being sold at 7,000 Lebanese pound compared to 3,900 Lebanese pound at exchange shops.
Lebanon has witnessed in the past few months a shortage in the U.S. dollars caused by economic slowdown and the drop in cash injections from Lebanese abroad, in addition to transfers by big depositors to foreign countries, reducing the central bank's foreign currency reserves and leading to an increase in the price of U.S. dollar to the Lebanese pound. Enditem
