US GDP Figures Strengthen the Dollar This Week

Lebanese Forex Market

The Lebanese Pound (LP) steadied this week within the range of $/LP 1,514 – 1,514.5 against the dollar, with a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25.

The peg continues to be supported by the Central Bank’s solid foreign assets, which reached $38.9B by the end of February 2019.

The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits rose from 68.44% in January 2018 to 70.87% in January 2019.

The Euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LP, ending the week at €/LBP 1,691.35, compared to last week’s €/LBP 1,698.76.

In its turn, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP added 0.49% over the week to 118.51 points.

International Forex Market

The Euro declined by 0.44% against the US dollar over the week ending March 29, The currency pair went from last week’s €/USD 1.1269 to €/USD 1.1220.

The German figures released last week regarding Germany’s manufacturing sector are still pressuring the Euro, as recession is looming on Europe’s biggest economy.

In its turn, the dollar strengthened this week, after US weekly jobless claims fell to 211,000 against 225,000 expected, which has indicated solid labor market conditions despite the slowing job growth in the states.

Also, the Fourth-quarter GDP in the US rose 2.2%, in line with expectations, closing  the past year with a 2.9 % increase and making 2018 the best year for the economy since 2015.

Commodities

Accordingly, gold prices fell over the week to $1,298.99 /ounce by March 29, compared to last week’s $1,310.56/ounce.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *