Lebanon central bank to use forex rate of 15,000 pounds per dollar as of Feb 1

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's central bank will adopt an exchange rate of 15,000 Lebanese pounds per U.S. dollar as of Feb. 1 as part of a process to unify the country's multiple exchange-rate system, Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Monday.

The central bank's official rate is currently set at 1,500 pounds per U.S. dollar, a rate that has become all but defunct since a 2019 financial implosion that has seen the currency lose more than 95% of its value.

The parallel market exchange rate was hovering at around 39,000 pounds per dollar on Monday.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari; Editing by Chris Reese)