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Lebanon's government bonds extended a three-month long rally on Thursday as hopes built that its parliament would elect a head of state for the crisis-hit country for first time since 2022.
Political sources expect army commander General Joseph Aoun to be voted in as president. A first round of parliamentary voting saw Aoun receive 71 votes, 15 short of the 86 of 128 he needs to win the post, but a second round vote is due to be held later in day.
Lebanon's battered bonds have trebled in value since September when the regional conflict with Israel weakened Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, long viewed as an obstacle to overcoming the country's political paralysis.
Most of Lebanon's international bonds, which have been in default since 2020, were up between 0.3 and 0.4 cents at just above 15 cents on the dollar ahead of the second parliament vote. They having also risen almost every day since late December.
(Reporting by Marc Jones and Karin Strohecker)