BEIRUT: The Lebanese pound fell against the dollar Tuesday, trading at LL12,550 on the black market.

Exchange dealers were selling the dollar for LL12,600 and buying it for LL12,500, down from Monday's average of LL12,350.

The market seems to have shrugged off a Central Bank announcement Sunday that it was in talks with local banks to come up with a system that could gradually grant depositors up to $25,000 of their money in instalments and that it would launch the SAYRAFA electronic platform for exchange operations with the participation of banks and money changers.

Few details were available about the announcement and after a day of wait and watch attitude, demand for the greenback increased again Tuesday, dealers.

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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