Lebanese Forex Market:
Demand for the Dollar in the Lebanese Forex Market increased over the first week of 2016, illustrated by Lebanese Pound up ticking from a quote of $/LP 1,510-1,514 with a mid-price of $/LP 1,512 to $/LP 1,510.5-1,514.5 with a mid-price of $/LP 1,512.5
Foreign assets (excluding gold) of the Central Bank fell by a monthly 1.91% to $37.09B at the end of December 2015. As for the dollarization rate of private sector deposits, it slid from 65.71% in December 2014 to 64.57% by October this year.
By Thursday 31th of December, 2015, 15:30 pm Beirut time, the dollar-pegged LP appreciated against the euro as the exchange rate decreased by a 0.44%, over the last week, from €/LP 1,646.56 to €/LP 1,639.26 . As for the Nominal effective exchange Rate (NEER), it increased by a weekly 0.12% to 169.13 points.
International Forex Market:
The euro depreciated against the dollar, ticking down by 0.44% to €/$ 1.0874 probably due to the Chinese Equities’ downturn that bolstered investors’ concerns and sent them towards the safest currencies such as the Dollar.
Commodities:
The price of gold increased from $1,061.88/ounce one week ago to $1,100.40/ounce due to concerns associated with the decline in the Chinese stock market and the devaluation of the Yuan. Chinese investors flew towards safer assets, noting that the second largest holders of gold are the Chinese.