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's pound traded at a record low of more than 35,000 to the dollar on Thursday, according to currency exchange platforms and traders, as divisions within a newly-elected parliament fuel concerns political paralysis will worsen the .

The legislature elected on May 15 has yet to hold its first session with major blocs divided over who to elect as speaker of .

The country clinched a provisional agreement with the International Monetary Fund in April but several measures prerequisite to the release of funds, including amendments to banking secrecy regulations and a capital controls bill, have yet to be adopted by parliament.

The pound has lost more than 95% of its value since 2019, when it was valued at 1,500 just before the country tumbled into an economic meltdown.

Lebanon's three-year financial crisis has pushed three-quarters of the population into poverty and food prices have gone up more than 11-fold, with new price hikes seen in supermarkets this week.

After decades of pegging the currency, the central bank now offers multiple rates, including a flexible exchange rate that was trading around 25,000 this week.

The gap between market exchange rates and the central bank's rate has widened significantly since the May 15 elections.

(Reuters)