Beirut, Oct 15 (IANS): The Lebanese pound has sank to a new historic low to the US dollar on the parallel market as the country continues to suffer from a steep financial crisis, state media reported.

The exchange rate of the Lebanese pound declined to 40,000 against the dollar, down from the previous record low of 39,000 on September19, Xinhua news agency reported.

Mounir Younes, an economist and former editor-in-chief of Al Qabas newspaper in Kuwait, attributed the further collapse of the Lebanese pound to the delay in the implementation of necessary reforms that would pave the way for an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

"Also, the obligatory reserves at the Central Bank of Lebanon continue to be depleted, which creates a negative sentiment," Younes said.

Another factor contributing to the currency collapse is the merchants' greater demand for the dollar because they want to import more products after the parliament endorsed the increase of the custom exchange rate from the current 1,500 pounds per dollar to 15,000 pounds.