Lebanese Forex Market
The Lebanese Pound traded within the range of $/LP 1,514-1,514.5 against the dollar with a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25 by the week ending July 13th, at the same range as last week.
The peg continues to be supported by the Central Bank’s solid foreign assets, which reached $44.16 billion in June 2018.
The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits grew from 65.84% in December 2017 to 68.35% in May 2018.
Over the past week, the Euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LP going from €/LBP 1,761.45 to €/LBP 1,751.82 to this week.
As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it recorded a 0.29% weekly rise to reach 115.45points.
International Forex Market
The euro fell against the dollar by a weekly 0.55% to settle at 1.1621 on Friday July 13, 2018. The escalating trade war between the US and China pushed the dollar to edge-up over the week as investors piled into the dollar’s safety. Moreover, data on US consumer prices published this week alongside Powell’s upbeat comments regarding the US economy stoked demand for the dollar. In Europe, the ECB’s released minutes Thursday weighed down on the common currency as the bank members maintained a dovish stance that pulls the ECB further away from normalizing policy.
Commodities
Gold prices retreated over the week, from $1,253.13/ounce last week to $1,241.58/ounce this week.