Weaker Dollar Upon Uncertainties on US Tax Reform

Lebanese Forex Market

Demand for the Lebanese Pound steadied over the past week 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) recorded a year to date (y-t-d) upturn of 3.68% to $44.03B by September 2017.

The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits rose from 65.82% in December 2016 to 66.92% by the end of September 2017.

By Friday October 13th, the euro appreciated against the dollar-pegged LP going from €/LBP 1,763.32 on the 6th of October to €/LBP 1,783.52, this week.

As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it dropped by 0.61% over the past week to stand at 111.63 points.

International Forex Market:

The dollar weakened during the week ahead of  the wait for the Fed’s release of its September minutes of meeting this Wednesday as well as uncertainties over President Trump’s tax reform. The Euro/Dollar rate stood at 1.1831 this week compared to 1.1697 last week.

Commodities:

On the back of a stronger dollar, gold prices rose from $1,267.82/ounce last week to $1,300/ounce this week.

 

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