January 2019 witnessed the highest monthly BOP deficit of $1380M since 1993, only July 2006 (launch of Israeli war on Lebanon) came close to it with a deficit of $1188M.
The political tensions ahead of the formation of a new government , following previous attempts in 2018 combined with the lost confidence by investors were the main trigger behind this large deficit .Some outflows of deposits along with a decline in FDIs were the result of the economic and political environment.
According to the Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL), Lebanon’s Balance of payments (BoP) recorded a $1380M deficit in January 2019, compared to a surplus of $236.9M in January 2018. In details, BDL’s Net Foreign Assets (NFA) and commercial banks’ NFAs slipped by $395M and $984.6M, respectively by January 2019.
Balance of Payments by January (In $ M)
Source: BDL