| 12/09/2014 | 05/09/2014 | %Change | YTD | |
| Euro / LP | 1948.14 | 1952.66 | -0.23% | |
| Euro / Dollar | 1.2923 | 1.2953 | -0.23% | |
| NEER Index** | 136.01 | 134.97 | 0.77% | 5.39% |
The demand for the dollar steadied over the prior week as reflected by the Lebanese pound’s peg against the dollar that remained at $/LP 1,510-1,514 with a mid-price of $/LP 1,512, since last week. Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank rose by a monthly 0.76% from $37.77B by July to $38.05B by end-August. Meanwhile, the dollarization rate of private sector deposits stood at 66.08% in July compared to 66.13% in December 2013.
The Euro remained on its downtrend this week due to the European Central Bank’s President announcing that the bank plans to start a form of quantitative easing in addition to a new cut in interest rates. Thus, the euro lost 0.23% against the dollar, closing at €/$ 1.2923 on Friday.
Speculations that the Federal Reserves might raise interest rates, by the middle of next year, strengthened the dollar and reduced the demand for its substitute gold, triggering a 1.61% weekly decline in its price from $1,260.84/ounce last week to $1,240.49/ounce on Thursday.
By Friday September 12th, 2014, 12:30 pm Beirut time, the dollar-pegged LP appreciated against the euro going from €/LP 1,952.66 to €/LP 1,948.14. The Nominal effective exchange Rate (NEER) added 0.77% to 136.01 points, with a 5.39% gain since year-start.