BEIRUT - Lebanon's banking association said the Beirut Reference Rate (BRR) on U.S. dollars had gone down to 8.5% and on Lebanese pounds to 11.5% as of January 2020.

The rate was 10.39% for dollars and 13.49% for Lebanese pounds in December 2019, according to Blominvest Bank.

In a statement, the association said the reduction in the reference rate for lending reflected a central bank decision to cap interest for new and renewed deposits after Dec. 5.

(Reporting by Eric Knecht and Ellen Francis; Editing by Kevin Liffey) ((eric.knecht@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: eric.knecht.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))