The floating of the Libyan national currency – dinar – is not going to be possible without uniting the Libyan banking institution, a high-ranking official at the Central Bank of Libya has revealed, adding that such a step needs certain legislations, laws and decrees besides a plan that makes Libya avoid inflation.
Xinhua reported the official, on condition of anonymity, as warning that the floating decision cannot be made without the unification of the banking institution.
Libya has two Central Banks: one in the east and the second in the west.
The official also added that legislations and an integrated plan by the legislative authority in cooperation with bankers and financial experts are all needed in order to map out the floating decision so Libya can avoid inflation and more record highs of the solar in exchange with the dinar.
“There are a number of political parties and officials that are continuously pressuring the Central Bank to float the dinar in order to reduce inflation and high foreign exchange rates in parallel market,” the official told Xinhua.
Meanwhile, one dollar is worth 9.5 Libyan dinars nowadays in the Libyan black market while the official rates are still at LYD1.4 to $1.
Lately, a workshop in Tripoli discussed the possibility of altering the official exchange rate of the Libyan dinar against the foreign currencies in order to put an end to the soaring exchange rates in the black market.
Libya’s foreign currencies’ reserves dropped sharply over the last four years registering losses of more than 140 billion dollars due to repetitive shutdowns of oil terminals and fields plus the decrease in oil prices in the international market.
