By Sami Zaptia.
London, 11 February 2021:
Musbah Al-Akkari, member of the Central Bank of Libya’s influential Exchange Rate Adjustment Committee, stated that foreign exchange sales reached US $ 3 billion, 25 working days after the introduction of the new LD 4.48 per US$ exchange rate.
Speaking to local Libyan media, Akkari pointed out that the liquidity problem had been eased, but that the main problem was still the failure of some banks to receive enough cash deposits.
The loss of confidence by Libyans in the country’s political, and hence economic, system has meant that they have chosen to hoard their cash at home rather than deposit it in their bank accounts.
Akkari also stated that next week will be decisive, and that his committee will meet to evaluate the results of the new exchange rate.
There will be a comprehensive report on the effects of the exchange rate adjustment, he explained, that will be referred to the CBL’s full board of directors, which will include the eastern based board members.
It is worth noting that there has been some criticism of the exchange rate adopted by the CBL, with critics feeling it was too high, leading to the raising of prices. There is pressure on the CBL to reduce it further.
Today, the black-market US $ exchange rate was US$ 5.15 compared to the official 1 US$ = LD 4.48 -a much reduced margin to when the official rate was LD 1.4 per dollar.
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