Lebanese Forex Market
Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market steadied over the past week, where the value of the Lebanese pound against the dollar maintained a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25 within the range of $/LP 1,514 -1,514.50.
Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank increased 9.46% since the beginning of the year to $40.60B by September 2016, boosted by the recent swap executed by BDL with the MoF and Lebanese banks. The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits fell from 64.88% in December 2015 to 64.76% in August 2016.
By Friday the 28th of October 2016, the euro appreciated against the dollar-pegged LP over the last week, going from €/LBP 1,640.16 to €/LBP 1,644.38. As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it marginally increased by 0.09% to reach 265.66 points.
International Forex Market:
The dollar was vulnerable this week, due to uncertainties revolving around the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy and the elections in the US. Hence, the euro appreciated against the dollar with the euro/dollar exchange rate increasing to €/$1.0908 this week, from €/$1.088, last week.
Commodities:
Over the past week, gold prices rose slightly from $1,266.25/ounce to $1,266.76/ounce this week.