Lebanon's central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Friday the era of the dollar peg was finished but said any floatation of the currency would depend on negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
Salameh made his comments in an interview with France24.
When asked in the interview whether the era of the dollar peg was finished, Salameh replied: "The peg is finished."
Asked whether this meant the currency would now be floated, Salameh told Reuters his comments were circulated "out of context".
"I said depending on the IMF, precision is important," he said.
In his interview, Salameh denied any responsibility for the financial crisis, stressing that his conscience is "clear."
He also warned that the situation in Lebanon could deteriorate if a government is not formed quickly.
He also announced that Lebanon's central bank is ready to provide all the information necessary for the "forensic audit" required by the international community.
Salameh denied being at the origin of a "Ponzi scheme", as described by French President Emmanuel Macron, saying that the central bank has instead supported a Lebanese economy on the brink of collapse.
He admitted that some wealthy Lebanese were able to withdraw large sums of money and send it abroad, while his fellow citizens can only withdraw limited amounts. Salameh said he had proposed capital controls at the start of the crisis, but that this was refused.
The central bank governor said the era of the fixed exchange rate system between the Lebanese pound and the US dollar is over, and that there will now be a floating exchange rate determined by the market.
Salameh, who said has no plans to resign, claimed to be the victim of a "campaign" of personal attacks aimed at making him the "scapegoat" for the crisis.
