Lebanese pound sinks to record low of 50,000 pounds to US dollar

The Lebanese pound on Thursday hit a new record low of 50,000 pounds per US dollar, currency exchange dealers told Reuters, marking a loss in value of more than 95 percent since the country’s financial system imploded in 2019.

The pound was pegged to the dollar at a rate of 1,507 in 1993, a peg that held until 2019, when decades of profligate spending, mismanagement and corruption triggered a financial crisis.

The largest bill in circulation, the 100,000 pound note formerly worth $67, is now worth just $2.