Lebanese Forex Market
Demand for the Lebanese Pound steadied during the period extending from 25/08/2017 to 15/09/2017 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.
Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank reached $42.47B in August 2017 compared to $40.71B in December 2016.
The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits rose from 65.82% in December 2016 to 66.88% by the end of July 2017.
By Friday September 15th, the euro appreciated against the dollar-pegged LP going from €/LBP 1,778.55 on the 25th of August to €/LBP 1,798.60, this week.
As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it fell by 0.88% over the past 3 weeks to stand at 110.52 points.
International Forex Market:
The Euro continued to strengthen against the dollar because of improved growth forecasts by the ECB’s president Mario Draghi while the dollar suffered from president Trump’s tensions with North Korea.
Commodities:
Gold prices increased from $1,287.47/ounce to $1,323.15/ounce, this week.