Libyan dinar expected to reach 7.90 per dollar by mid-April, Central Bank of Libya reports

The Central Bank of Libya CBL continues its efforts to reduce the black-market exchange rate of the Libyan dinar against major currencies, particularly the US dollar. The CBL has been providing daily briefings to media outlets, indicating continued sales of hard currency allocations for personal use and letters of credit. Sales over the past two days reached US$780 million for personal purposes and US$800 million for letters of credit and remittances. The CBL is also preparing to begin cash sales of foreign currency and will authorize foreign exchange bureaux to broker these sales for personal purposes. The CBL's Board of Directors is expected to approve the mechanism for selling dollars in cash through exchange companies, offices, and commercial banks, with sales anticipated to resume early next week. The CBL projects the dinar's value to decrease to 7.90 dinars per dollar before mid-April. This initiative is part of a strategy to regulate the exchange market and reduce speculation between the official and parallel market rates. The dinar closed at approximately LD 8.75 per dollar yesterday and was trading at LD 8.84 per US dollar today, an improvement from LD 10.50 in March. The CBL's frequent briefings are seen as a psychological tactic to deter black-market traders from buying dollars at high prices, aiming to strengthen the dinar's value by signaling an increased supply of dollars in the market. The CBL faces a persistent over-demand for the dollar in the black market, a