BEIRUT: The black market for currency exchange opened stable Monday, with the Lebanese pound trading for around LL12,250 against the dollar.

The exchange rate of the Lebanese pound to the dollar saw little to no change Monday, after it was traded for around LL12,200 last week.

Currency traders said this relative stability of the exchange rate is due to an expected launch of a platform by the Central Bank that will allow licensed exchangers and commercial banks to trade foreign currency, which could, if successful, bring order to the largely opaque market.

The pound has fluctuated mainly within a LL12,000-LL12,600 band to the dollar this month after hitting a record low of LL15,100 in March on the collapse of efforts to form a new government that would promptly enact economic reforms and begin negotiations with international financial organizations.

The local currency has lost some 85 percent of its value over the past 18 months amid an acute economic and financial crisis that has threatened to destabilize the country.

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