Lebanese Forex Market:
Demand for the Dollar in the Lebanese Forex Market remained stable over the past week since the value of the Lebanese Pound was unchanged against the dollar with a quote of $/LP 1,510.5-1,514.5 and a mid-price of $/LP 1,512.5.
Foreign assets (excluding gold) of the Central Bank fell by a monthly 1.91% to $37.09B at the end of December 2015. As for the dollarization rate of private sector deposits, it slid from 65.71% in December 2014 to 64.57% by November this year.
By Friday 15th of January, 2016, 15:14 pm Beirut time, the dollar-pegged LP depreciated against the euro as the exchange rate increased by 0.29%, over the last week, from €/LP 1,639.26 to €/LP 1,644.08. As for the Nominal effective exchange Rate (NEER), it increased by a weekly 0.09% to 169.28 points.
International Forex Market:
The euro was perceived as a safe-haven currency and gained a weekly 0.29% against the dollar and ended the week at €/$ 1.0906. The euro was more appealing to investors this week on account of lower oil prices and weaker Chinese shares. OPEC announced that its oil basket fell to $25 on Thursday. Once Iranian sanctions are lifted and Iranian oil enters the market, the higher supply will likely push the oil price further down.
Commodities:
In spite of concerns over the health of the global economy, the price of gold still managed to edge down from last week’s $1,100.40/ounce to $1,088.96/ounce this week