Dealers said that the Lebanese pound rose against the US dollar in the informal market this month, due to reasons including visitors who bring with them scarce dollars since the airport was reopened.
The dollar scored about 7300 pounds today, according to two dealers in the exchange market, compared to the price of close to ten thousand pounds late last month, which means that the dollar fell about 2700 pounds.
Dealers told Reuters that the demand for the US currency fell as visitors brought the dollar with them when the airport reopened in early July after it was closed for months.
Others mentioned the government's commitment to support about 300 commodities, including foodstuffs, and to assist importers and manufacturers of these commodities.
The central bank said last week that it would provide hard currency to them at a fixed price of 3,900 liras per dollar.
"The announcement of the food basket and the arrival of new money from abroad ... All of this leads to a decline, but it is not a major factor ... Even the decline may be a matter of speculation," said Hani Al-Bohsali, head of the Food Importers Association.
The central bank sought to stabilize the currency rate in the role of exchange by setting a unified price with it on a daily basis, which is what was set today at 3850/3900 pounds for buying and selling. But importers and others say it is almost impossible to get the dollar at these prices.
At today's informal market price, the lira remains significantly weaker than the official peg price of 1507.5 - a price that has been in place since 1997 and is currently only available for imports of fuel, wheat and medicine.