Despite Central Bank Announcing "Success of Dollar Supply Plan"... Dollar Continues to Rise Against the Dinar

The Central Bank of Libya has announced the successful completion of the first phase of its dollar supply and distribution plan through commercial banks. The announcement came during a meeting between Central Bank Governor Naji Issa and a delegation from "Nomisma" Bank, as preparations are underway to launch a second phase aimed at injecting additional quantities of foreign currency to meet the needs of the local market.

Exchange Market Challenges and Speculation

Despite the Central Bank launching a mechanism for supplying and distributing dollars to citizens through the personal purposes system, commercial banks, and exchange offices — and promoting it as a step aimed at curbing speculation and absorbing the growing demand for foreign currency — these measures have not been clearly reflected in the parallel market and exchange rate. The dollar continues to trade on the parallel market at levels ranging between 8 and 8.5 dinars, while the dollar price through banknotes continues to record successive rises, reaching approximately 8.53 dinars.

Limited Impact and Lack of Oversight

Observers believe that the continued gap between the official price and the market price reflects the limited impact of current measures, raising questions about the effectiveness of the policy of pumping foreign currency without effective regulatory tools to curb speculation and unregulated commercial demand. Moreover, the abundance of dollars within some banks has so far failed to restore confidence to the market or support the value of the Libyan dinar, especially with the continued rise in the prices of basic commodities and the absence of any tangible improvement in citizens' purchasing power.

Transparency Crisis in Official Communication

The communication mechanism adopted by the Central Bank faces increasing criticism, as it often limits itself to publishing statements outside its official pages and accounts on social media, without holding regular press conferences — an additional reason for the lack of transparency.

Amid the persistent gap between what the Central Bank announces regarding measures to control the foreign exchange market and what actually appears in the exchange market in terms of continuous rises in the dollar price, the effectiveness of current monetary policy remains widely questioned among citizens. Will pumping dollars alone be sufficient to achieve real stability in the exchange rate?