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Lebanese Pound Hits Record Low of More than 24,000 per US Dollar

Lebanese pound banknotes on display at a money exchange shop in Beirut. (Reuters)
Lebanese pound banknotes on display at a money exchange shop in Beirut. (Reuters)
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Lebanese Pound Hits Record Low of More than 24,000 per US Dollar

Lebanese pound banknotes on display at a money exchange shop in Beirut. (Reuters)
Lebanese pound banknotes on display at a money exchange shop in Beirut. (Reuters)

Lebanon's currency slid to a new low against the US dollar on Thursday amid government paralysis as the country's financial meltdown deepens.

Several Beirut currency exchangers said the Lebanese pound was trading at around 24,200 per dollar, exceeding an all-time low of about 24,000 reached in July, Reuters reported.

The currency has now lost more than 93% of its value since summer 2019, when it began to split from the rate of 1,500 pounds per dollar at which it had been pegged since 1997.

Lebanon is in the throes of an economic meltdown that the World Bank has called one of the worst depressions of modern history.

The crisis is widely blamed on decades of corruption and mismanagement by political elites.

Lebanon formed a new government in September headed by veteran politician Najib Mikati with the aim of negotiating an International Monetary Fund program seen as key to unlocking international aid to stem the crisis.

However, it has not met in more than 40 days - an absence initiated by a push by Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies to remove the judge investigating the August 2020 Beirut port explosion that killed more than 215 people and caused billions of dollars in damage.

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Oil Rises as Investors Return From Holidays, Eye China Recovery

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
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Oil Rises as Investors Return From Holidays, Eye China Recovery

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil prices nudged higher on Thursday, the first day of trade for 2025, as investors returning from holidays cautiously eyed a recovery in China's economy and fuel demand following a pledge by President Xi Jinping to promote growth.
Brent crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.06%, to $74.82 a barrel by 0547 GMT after settling up 65 cents on Tuesday, the last trading day for 2024. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 19 cents, or 0.26%, to $71.91 a barrel after closing 73 cents higher in the previous session, Reuters reported.
China's Xi said on Tuesday in his New Year's address that the country would implement more proactive policies to promote growth in 2025.
China's factory activity grew in December, according to the private-sector Caixin/S&P Global survey on Thursday, but at a slower than expected pace amid concerns over the trade outlook and risks from tariffs proposed by US President-elect Donald Trump.
The data echoed an official survey released on Tuesday that showed China's manufacturing activity barely grew in December, though services and construction recovered. The data suggested policy stimulus is trickling into some sectors as China braces for new trade risks.
Traders are returning to their desks and probably weighing higher geopolitical risks and also the impact of Trump running the US economy red hot versus the impact of tariffs, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"Tomorrow's US ISM manufacturing release will be key to crude oil's next move," Sycamore added.
Sycamore said WTI's weekly chart is winding itself into a tighter range, which suggests a big move is coming.
"Rather than trying to predict in which way the break will occur, we would be inclined to wait for the break and then go with it," he added.
Investors are also awaiting weekly US oil stocks data from the Energy Information Administration that has been delayed until Thursday due to the New Year holiday.
US crude oil and distillate stockpiles are expected to have fallen last week while gasoline inventories likely rose, an extended Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
US oil demand surged to the highest levels since the pandemic in October at 21.01 million barrels per day (bpd), up about 700,000 bpd from September, EIA data showed on Tuesday.
Crude output from the world's top producer rose to a record 13.46 million bpd in October, up 260,000 bpd from September, the report showed.
In 2025, oil prices are likely to be constrained near $70 a barrel, down for a third year after a 3% decline in 2024, as weak Chinese demand and rising global supplies offset efforts by OPEC+ to shore up the market, a Reuters monthly poll showed.
In Europe, Russia halted gas exports via Soviet-era pipelines running through Ukraine on New Year's Day. The widely expected stoppage will not impact prices for consumers in the European Union as some buyers have arranged alternative supply, while Hungary will keep receiving Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea.