Dollar Remains Strong as Fed Hints at Rate Increases Later in the Year

Lebanese Forex Market

Demand for the dollar slightly fell on the Lebanese Forex market with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,513.75 – 1,514.25 with a mid-price of $/LP 1,514 compared to a range of $/LP 1,514 – 1,514.5 with a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25 last week.

Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank reached $40.09B at the end of March 2017 compared to $36.59B in the same period last year.

The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits rose from 64.7% in February 2016 to 65.9% in February 2017.

By Friday April 7th, 2017, the euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LP going from €/LBP 1,612.12 on March 31st to €/LBP 1,602.92, this week.

As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it increased by 0.40% over the past week to stand at 117.42 points.

International Forex Market:

The euro/dollar dropped by 0.57% to €/$ 1.0633 over the past week. The euro’s decline was less pronounced compared to last week as the market already priced in the European Central Bank’s comments on not revising the current monetary easing just yet. In the US, the Federal Reserve’s minutes released on Wednesday hinted at the possibility of increasing rates later this year.

Commodities:

Over the week, US airstrikes in Syria led to a safe haven rush that pushed gold prices upwards from $1,242.01/ounce last week to $1,265.30/ounce this week.

 

 

 

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