WASHINGTON, 15 January 2022, (TON): According to a statement from Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s office “the US has told Lebanon it should not fear a sanctions law over its plans to receive energy supplies from the region.”

US ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, handed Mikati a letter from the US Treasury to answer Lebanese authorities’ concerns about regional energy agreements that the US had helped to facilitate with Jordan and Egypt.

The diplomat said “there will be no fears from the US sanctions law. This message represents forward momentum and an important milestone as we continue to make progress to achieve cleaner and more sustainable energy, to help address the energy crisis.”

Lebanon is grappling with a deep financial crisis and a weak local currency that is piling pressure on the population.

On Friday, the dollar exchange rate on the black market dropped by more than LBP5,000 at once to reach LBP27,500.

Money exchange shops tried to limit their sales of dollars after people rushed to buy or sell them.

The Central Bank issued a circular on Dec. 27 and followed it up with amendments. The circular removed a ceiling related to bank purchases of dollars using the official Sayrafa exchange rate platform.

It allowed depositors and account holders of Lebanese pounds to withdraw their deposits and salaries in dollars based on the rate set by Sayrafa.

The move pumped dollars into the Lebanese market by replacing withdrawals from pounds with fresh dollars.