BEIRUT, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam on Thursday announced that supermarkets in Lebanon will price items in U.S. dollars starting Feb. 22. amid the unprecedented collapse of the local currency, the National News Agency reported.

"We cannot change the prices of 38,000 products daily in supermarkets with every change in the U.S. dollar exchange rate," Salam said at a press conference, adding that customers can pay in Lebanese pounds according to the daily exchange rate of the U.S. dollar.

He added that these solutions are adopted as exceptional measures due to the plummet in the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to the Lebanese pound while denying remarks about Lebanese authorities attempting to dollarize the Lebanese economy.

"We are keen to protect our national currency, but there is an exceptional situation, and we do not know how long it will last," he added.

Lebanon has seen an unprecedented and fast collapse of its national currency from 1,500 Lebanese pounds per dollar before Oct. 2019 to 80,000 Lebanese pounds per dollar today. Enditem

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