US Dollar Supported by Positive Economic Data over the Past Week

Lebanese Forex Market:

Demand for the Dollar in the Lebanese Forex Market remained unchanged over the past week as the value of the dollar steadied at $/LP 1,513.75-1,514.25 with a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.

Foreign assets (excluding gold) of the Central Bank decreased by 1.56% by the end of March, to $36.59B. The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits fell from 64.88% in December 2015 to 64.69% in February 2016.

By Friday 15th of April, 2016, 12:25 pm Beirut time, the euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LP as the exchange rate down slid by 1.06%, over the last week, from €/LP 1,716.44 to €/LP 1,698.20. As for the Nominal effective Exchange Rate (NEER), it added a weekly 0.23% to 166.66 points, the equivalent of a 1.03% year-to-date decrease.

International Forex Market:

The euro also fell against the dollar as the exchange rate dropped from last week’s €/$ 1.1386 to  €/$ 1.1265 this week. The dollar got a boost from jobless claims falling to their lowest level since 1973 and from the consumer price index rising by 0.1% in March.   

Commodities:

With a stronger dollar, gold prices fell from $1,232/ounce last week to $1,230/ounce at 12:30 Beirut time this Friday.  

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