Lebanon tension spurs questions over Middle East currency pegs

Lebanon tension spurs questions over Middle East currency pegs:

"The rumbling crisis in Lebanon has raised questions about the country’s currency peg — the bedrock of its relative financial and economic stability — and prompted a sterner examination of other fixed foreign exchange regimes across the region. The Lebanese pound came under pressure this month with the shock resignation of Saad al-Hariri, the prime minister, on a visit to Riyadh. Behind his departure, many observers concluded, was the escalating rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Such tensions have fuelled the war in Yemen and were behind the blockade imposed on Qatar, one of the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, by Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC. If fractures in the GCC deepen, say analysts, the resiliency of their currency pegs will be questioned."



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