Lebanese Forex Market
Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market stabilized at $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514 – 1,514.5.
Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank reached $40.04B at the end of January 2017 compared to $37.02B in the same period last year.
The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits rose from 64.67% in January 2016 to 65.84% in January 2017.
By Friday March 17, 2017, the euro appreciated against the dollar-pegged LP going from €/LBP 1,599.91on March 10 to €/LBP 1,624.03, this week.
As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it dropped by 1.01% over the past week to stand at 116.73 points.
International Forex Market:
The euro/dollar rose by 1.51% to €/$ 1.0773 over the past week ahead of the G-20 meeting this weekend and mainly due to the Fed’s cautious message this week on the outlook for interest rate hikes. Moreover, the euro strengthened this week on the back of Wilder’s far right party defeat in the Dutch elections.
Commodities:
Over the week, gold prices rose from $1,197.29 on March 10 to $1,229.60 this week.