Lebanese Forex Market
Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market decreased over the past week, going from $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514 – 1,514.50 on January 20th to a mid-price of $/LP 1,514 within the range $/LP 1,513.75 – 1,514.25 on Friday.
Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank increased 9.75% since the beginning of the year to $40.71B by December 2016, boosted by the June 2016 Swap Operation coordinated by BDL with the MoF and the Lebanese commercial banks. The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits slightly hiked from 64.88% in Dec.2015 to 65.30% in Nov.2016.
By Friday January 27, 2017, the euro appreciated against the dollar-pegged LP over the last week, going from €/LBP 1,604.58 on January 20 to €/LBP 1,612.12 on January 27. As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it decreased by 0.61% over the past week to stand at 117.72 points.
International Forex Market:
The dollar depreciated against the euro this week, as traders locked in gains on the dollar’s recent hike, awaiting the new U.S President Donald Trump to offer details on his promised stimulus. Hence, the dollar fell from €/$ 1.0644 in the last week to €/$1.0694 this week.
Commodities:
Over the week, gold prices decreased from $1,199.40/ounce on January 20 to $1,185/ounce this week.