Libya's Central Bank launches $2 billion liquidity program to support exchange rate

The Central Bank of Libya announced a package of measures aimed at stabilising the national currency. It will inject a total of US$2 billion – US$1 billion to finance letters of credit and another US$1 billion for personal foreign‑currency allocations and travel bookings through its electronic platform at the official rate. In parallel, the bank will begin the first phase of its August liquidity plan, providing 5 billion Libyan dinars (about US$777 million) to commercial banks to meet public cash demand. The programme also extends bank working hours for cash dollar sales and seeks to remove obstacles for electronic‑payment providers, ensuring the continuity and efficiency of payment systems.

The measures follow a meeting led by Governor Naji Issa in Tripoli and aim to curb demand in the parallel market, where the dinar trades at roughly 8.65 per US$ compared with the official rate of about 6.43. The bank’s online foreign‑currency booking system, launched on 28 January, allows citizens aged 18 and over to purchase up to US$2,000 every six months at the official rate, further narrowing the gap between official and black‑market rates.