Libya’s dinar has plunged to a new low on the black market amid continued political deadlock in this oil-rich country.
Traders were selling the dinar Wednesday from between 5.0 and 5.30 to the dollar, a sharp decline from nearly 4 Libyan dinars to the dollar in March. The official rate is 1.58.
The downward spiral is rooted in the depletion of foreign currency in Libya after a sharp drop in oil production from 1.6 million barrels a day in 2011 to less than 400,000 barrels a day.
Oil is the country’s main source of revenues. Militias control oil fields, pipelines, and oil terminals. After the 2011 ouster and killing of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya slid into chaos, and subsequent political turmoil left the country split between two competing governments.
