Comments on Lebanon’s currency collapse and protests, FT, 12 Jun 2020

Dr. Nasser Saidi commented on the currency fluctuations and associated protests in Lebanon in the FT article titled “Currency collapse fuels mass protests in Lebanon” published on 12th June 2020.

The full article can be accessed at: https://www.ft.com/content/a1c5f2aa-79a6-48ec-aa8e-6b5d60bda1f7

The comment is posted below:

Nasser Saidi, a former central bank vice-governor, said there was little the government could do at this point to stop the slide. “This is a cash market, not your usual forex market. The central bank is no longer able to intervene.”

Mr Saidi, the former central banker, said the volatile price swings were driven by four main factors: uncertainty among currency traders about government policy; the printing of currency to cover a fiscal deficit left by falling tax receipts; the economic impact of coronavirus; and panic in the exchange market in neighbouring Syria, where business people are anticipating the impact of new US sanctions next week.