Lebanese Forex Market:
Demand for the Dollar on the Lebanese forex market steadied over the past two weeks as the value of the Lebanese pound against the dollar stabilized at a mid-price of $/LP 1,514 within the range of $/LP 1,513.75-1,514.25.
Foreign assets (excluding gold) of the Central Bank increased 2.20% since the beginning of the year to $36.28B by June 2016. The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits fell from 64.88% in December 2015 to 64.73% in May 2016.
By Friday 22nd of July, 2016, 2:00 pm Beirut time, the euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LP as the exchange rate fell by 1.01%, over the last week, dropping from €/LP 1,679.20 to €/LP 1,662.17. As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) it rose by 0.32% to reach 167.37 points.
International Forex Market:
European financial markets are still trying to recover after Brexit decision; however, the euro witnessed this week a 1.01% drop in its value against the dollar, after registering an increase in the past 2 weeks. As the dollar continues to strengthen, the euro’s exchange rate fell to reach €/$1.1103.
Commodities:
Over the week, gold saw its price drop from $1,335.56/ounce to $1,325.38/ounce this Friday.