Demand for the dollar increased over the prior week as reflected by the Lebanese pound’s peg against the dollar that went from $/LP 1,510-1,514 with a mid-price of $/LP 1,512, to $/LP 1,513-1,514 with a mid-price of $/LP 1,513.5, this week. Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank dropped a monthly 0.37% from $38.87B at end-October to $38.73B by end-November. Meanwhile, the dollarization rate of private sector deposits stood at 65.87% in September compared to 66.13% in December 2013.
As economists expect an accelerated job growth in the U.S., the dollar rose against the Euro. The euro weakened against the dollar by 0.62%, ending the week at €/$ 1.2370.
After the OPEC meeting, the price of gold overshot, reaching a weekly minimum of $1,167.04/ounce. However demand for the precious metal rebounded, where its price went up from $1,191.25/ounce last Thursday to $1,205.32/ounce this week.
By Friday December 5th, 2014, 12:30 pm Beirut time, the dollar-pegged LP appreciated against the euro going from €/LP 1,876.39, the prior week, to €/LP 1,864.78. The Nominal effective exchange Rate (NEER) gained 1.27%, weekly, to 144.68 points, where its year-to-date gain reached 12.10%.