According to Banque Du Liban statistics, opened letters of credit (L/Cs), a measurement tool for trade activity, plunged by 38.44% during the month of August 2022 to reach $27.20 million, down from $44.18 million a month earlier. On a cumulative basis, however, the face value of opened L/Cs came in 71.28% higher y-o-y at $257.58 million during the first eight months of 2022, compared to $150.38 million a year earlier.

Documentary L/Cs opened to finance imports activities soared by nearly three folds y-o-y to $190.78 million YTD August 2022, from $68.86 million during the same period in 2021. Concurrently, utilized credits for imports rose by more than three times to $162.26 million, up from $50.95 million by August 2021. Inward bills for collection, another documentary credit form of financing (backed by invoices), fell by 15.59% y-o-y to $132.94 million YTD August 2022, from $157.48 million a year before.

In a related note, documentary L/Cs opened to finance exports activities dropped by 18.06% y-o-y to $66.80 million during the first eight months of the current year, from $81.53 million in the equivalent period last year. On the other hand, utilized credits to finance exports rose by 3.06% to $49.15 million (73.58% of opened L/Cs for exports). In the same vein, the value of outward bills fell by 18.79% annually to $115.56 million YTD August 2022, with outstanding bills for collection sinking by 18.07% to $163.58 million.