Stable Demand for the Dollar on the Lebanese Forex Market

Lebanese Forex Market

Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market stabilized over the past week at a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514-1,514.50 on Friday.  

Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank increased 8.56% since the beginning of the year to $40.27B by November 2016, boosted by the recent swap executed by BDL with the MoF and Lebanese banks. The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits increased from 64.88% in December 2015 to 65.10% in October 2016.

By Friday the 30th of December 2016, the euro appreciated against the dollar-pegged LP over the last week, going from €/LBP 1,576.24 to €/LBP 1,596.29. As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it decreased by 0.64% over the week to reach 118.41 points.

International Forex Market:

The dollar fell over the past week as traders cashed in on the recent greenback’s gains and as stronger demand for safe haven assets reduced the dollar’s attractiveness.

Hence, the Euro gained ground against the dollar going from €/$ 1.0456 last week, to €/$1.0589 this week.

Commodities:

Over the past week, gold prices moved in the opposite direction than that of the dollar, increasing from $1,128/ounce last week to $1,160/ounce this Friday.

 

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