The value of cleared checks decreased by 1.25% during the first four months of the year, illustrating lower values of consumption and spending. This could be partly due to the deflationary pressures that persisted in 2016 and held back Lebanese prices. In fact, the number of checks cleared by Banque du Liban amounted to 4.06M worth $22.57B by April 2016, compared to a slightly lower total of 4.02M checks valued at $22.86B registered a year earlier.
The total value of checks in foreign currencies triggered the fall in the total value of cleared checks, as it declined 4.18% y-o-y to $15.99B compared to $16.69B by April 2015. In contrast, the value of checks denominated in Lebanese Pounds inched up by a yearly 6.34% to reach $6.56B. In turn, the dollarization rate of checks retreated from 73.01% by April 2015 to 70.84% this year. As for returned checks, they constituted 2.35% of the total value of checks.
In the month of April alone, the value of cleared checks ticked down by 0.38% y-o-y to $5.69B. The value of checks denominated in foreign currencies (representing 69.63% of the total) went down by an annual 4.76% to 3.96$. On the other hand, the value of checks in LBP increased by 10.05% y-o-y to $1.71B.
Value of Cleared Checks by April ($M)
Source: ABL