The price of the dollar today in Lebanon… during the trading of Monday, July 4, 2022, in the unofficial (black) parallel market.
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The price of the dollar today in Lebanon:
The price of the dollar on the black market is recorded, between 29.150 – 29.250 Lebanese pounds for every one dollar.
Central reserves: 2.49 billion dollars flown since the beginning of 2022
Noureddine in the cities: In the absence of a comprehensive financial plan, and in the absence of an elaborate vision for unifying and controlling the exchange rate, it is not possible to expect any positive development in the bi-monthly budget figures published by the Banque du Liban. At the beginning and middle of each month, it has become common for this bi-monthly budget to reflect the continuous depletion of foreign currency reserves, the incomprehensible increase in the item that reflects the accumulated losses of the Banque du Liban, in addition to the rapid fluctuations in the size of the monetary mass circulating outside the Banque du Liban.
Diminishing precautions
The budget figures as at the end of June show that the remaining hard currency reserves have decreased to $11.14 billion, after reaching $11.31 billion in mid-June. More clearly, it can be said that the Banque du Liban lost from its reserves an amount of approximately 171 million dollars, during the second half of June alone.
In all cases, it is known that this type of losses mainly reflects the amounts that the Banque du Liban pumps into the market through an exchange platform, to finance the import of some commodities or to curb the exchange rate of the dollar against the lira. In addition to the reasons for the decrease in the value of the reserves, there is another smaller loss resulting from the decline in the exchange rate of the euro against the dollar, because the reserves portfolio includes investments of limited value in the euro (their value changes in the budget with the change in the value of the euro against the dollar).
It should be noted that the value of the Central Bank’s reserves at the beginning of June amounted to about 11.82 billion dollars, which makes the value that the Central Bank lost from the reserves during each month of June about 680 million dollars. If we take into account the existence of reserves of nearly $13.63 billion at the beginning of this year, it becomes clear that the depletion of reserves has reached $2.49 billion since the beginning of this year, that is, during a period that did not exceed the six-month limit only.
What is interesting here is that the depletion of reserves in this way will have cost Lebanon – if it continues at this pace – about five billion dollars by the end of the year, while everything that Lebanon will receive in the IMF loan program – if the final agreement is completed – will not exceed Three billion dollars. Knowing that the volume of reserves that are being depleted at this pace is close to a quarter of the GDP, meaning that a quarter of the size of the local economy is financed with the intervention of the central bank.
gold stock
In terms of gold stock, recorded in the Central Bank’s balance sheet, this item recorded a decrease to its value today about 16.73 billion dollars, after its value was equivalent to about 17.08 billion dollars at the beginning of June, which reflected a decrease of about 356 million dollars within one month. Noting that this decline was driven by the decline in the value of gold globally during this month, in parallel with the rise in interest in the United States. This type of re-evaluating the gold item in the budget is carried out automatically by the Central Bank every 15 days in its bi-monthly budget, according to changes in the prices of the yellow metal in international markets.
accumulated losses in the budget
As for the accumulated losses in the budget, under the label of “other assets,” this item recorded an increase of $447 million in the second half of June, raising its value to about $66.8 billion. This clause is used by the Central Bank – at the personal discretion of the ruler – to hide the losses incurred by the bank, by registering fictitious assets under the name of “other assets”, in exchange for the actual assets that the bank loses. In this way, Salameh for many years avoided recording these losses clearly and explicitly in the balance sheet, and deducting their value from the total balance sheet assets. This is precisely what led today to the accumulation of the existing gap in the accounts of the Banque du Liban, which various financial proposals and plans seek to deal with.
The currency in circulation is in lira
As for the value of the monetary mass circulating outside the Banque du Liban, in Lebanese pounds, this item rose by about 448 billion Lebanese pounds, during the second half of June, after the bank managed to absorb about 5,081 billion Lebanese pounds of paper money in the local currency in the first half of the month. However, in all cases, the value of the monetary mass circulating outside the Banque du Liban today is still 15% less than its value at the beginning of this year, which reflects the impact of the operations of absorbing cash circulating in lira carried out by the Central Bank since the beginning of this year.
In sum, it has become clear that the balance sheet scene is getting darker every half month, with every additional decrease in the value of liquid or liquidable physical assets, with the exception of gold, whose value does not change except in accordance with the change in global market prices. With each decrease in the value of reserves, the difference between the Central Bank’s obligations and the value of liquid assets increases, which exacerbates the volume of accumulated losses and the cost of dealing with them during the next stage.
To charge 10 dollars on your phones.. Here is the new price
A number of stores selling recharge cards launched a new price for the dollars that will be sold to citizens, after the new tariff for telecommunications was issued on 1 July.
It was found that the price of one dollar amounted to 35,000 Lebanese pounds, while the balance of 10 dollars was 350,000 Lebanese pounds.
It is noteworthy that the new recharge cards from “Alfa” and “Touch” companies are relatively available in the market, and all stores are scheduled to receive them fully within the next two days.
Lebanon is counting on the return of tourism to revive the economy
Lebanon pins great hopes on a promising tourist and summer season, as indications are rising that the tourism sector is returning to activity again in Lebanon this year, despite the difficult conditions the country is going through.
Lebanon launched its tourism campaigns to encourage expatriates and tourists to visit a country characterized by its tourist attractions and its diversity between the coast and the mountain, and it remains the first destination for its citizens despite its accumulated crises.
Official expectations indicated that about 1.5 million people will visit Beirut this summer, amid estimates that the promising tourism season will generate revenues of about $3 billion.
The Minister of Tourism in the Lebanese caretaker government, Walid Nassar, said that the tourist season in Lebanon this year will be prosperous.
He pointed out that between 10 and 12 thousand people have entered the country every day since the beginning of last June, about one and a half million tourists in total, expecting that about 70 percent of them are Lebanese expatriates and 30 percent are foreigners.
He told the Qatar News Agency (QNA), “We usually specify an approximate amount of $1,500 spent by tourists, which means that large sums are supposed to enter the country exceeding what we expect from the World Bank in terms of $3 billion, provided that security and political stability continue.”
For his part, the head of the Beirut Traders Association, Nicolas Shammas, confirmed that the summer season is one of the most prominent traditional commercial stations in Lebanon, which constitute a pillar of the national economy.
He pointed out that more than 1.2 million people are expected to come to Lebanon, and spend between 2.5 billion and 3 billion dollars, distributed between the hotel and commercial sectors, restaurants, recreation, transportation, and so on.
He believed that the tourism sector constitutes an opportunity for the commercial sector to flourish, indicating at the same time the disparity in purchasing power between the Lebanese consumer and the tourist or expatriate consumer in light of the financial difficulties facing residents in Lebanon.
Observers confirmed that the tourism campaign launched by Lebanon brought about positive results in light of the influx of a large number of tourists and expatriates to Beirut, where dozens of planes arrive daily at Rafic Hariri International Airport with thousands of people on board to visit Lebanon for the purpose of tourism.
In this context, the Minister of Works in the Lebanese caretaker government, Ali Hamiyah, said: “With serious work, we hoped to activate our public facilities, and the results were promising and according to expectations.”
He pointed out in a tweet to him on Twitter that the landing of planes and the number of arrivals at Rafic Hariri International Airport is constantly increasing.
For his part, the head of the North Lebanon Merchants Association, Asaad Hariri, expected the tourist season in Lebanon to be promising, announcing the establishment of a tourism festival in the north for two months throughout the month of July and next August.
In statements to QNA, Hariri touched on the problems facing the tourism sector in Lebanon, the first of which is the power outage, which incurs high costs for owners of tourism establishments and those responsible for this sector due to the use of private generators in light of the high fuel prices.
Statistics indicate that the occupancy rate in hotels is very large, which has revived the growth of tourism in Lebanon after years of its decline due to the repercussions of the Corona pandemic, in addition to the reluctance of Arab tourists to come to Lebanon for various reasons.
In this context, businessman Samir Rahal said that the level of demand for hotel reservations is excellent, and the occupancy rate is up to 100 percent for this summer.
Rahal, who owns a group of hotels in Lebanon, revealed the cost of booking in the hotels he owns, which ranges between $100 and $200, noting that the most prominent problems facing the hotel sector are power outages, as daily feeding hours are limited to two hours at most, which incurs a cost for hotel owners. Great for securing electricity through private generators in light of high fuel prices.
energy
Lebanon attracts more offers for oil and gas exploration by extending the licensing round
Festivals and tourism events continue to be announced to encourage the tourism season, and Noura Jumblatt, the head of the Beiteddine Festivals Committee, announced free entry to the upcoming Beiteddine festivals during July.
The low exchange rate of the Lebanese currency against the dollar contributed to the choice of tourists to Lebanon to spend the summer, as the numbers indicate a heavy tourist movement compared to previous years.
The tourism sector in Lebanon is working in difficult circumstances to overcome the long periods of stagnation that it previously suffered, due to the Corona pandemic and the economic and financial crises that the country is experiencing, and seeks to secure continuity through the active summer tourist season.
Tourism in Lebanon is one of the most important sources of income in the state treasury, as it has been considered the mainstay of the Lebanese economy since ancient times, and provides job opportunities for many Lebanese.
semantics
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