BEIRUT: The Lebanese pound was unchanged against the dollar Tuesday, trading at LL8,850 on the black market, with no change in the political crisis that has left the country without a fully functioning government since August.

Exchange dealers were selling the dollar for LL8,900 and buying it for LL8,800, the rate that the national currency traded for Monday.

The pound has effectively lost around 80 percent of its value over the last 15 months, reflecting a severe economic and financial crisis that has pushed around half the Lebanese under the poverty level.

Political bickering have brought efforts to form a new government -- essential to receive foreign aid and loans -- to a standstill, with little hope of a breakthrough any time soon.

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