Euro Registers Slight Advance against the Dollar

Lebanese Forex Market

Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market stabilized at $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514 – 1,514.5.

Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank reached $40.04B at the end of January 2017 compared to $37.02B in the same period last year.

The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits rose from 64.88% in 2015 to 65.82% in 2016.

By Friday February 17, 2017, the euro barely appreciated against the dollar-pegged LP going from €/LBP 1,604.28 on February 10th to €/LBP 1,604.45.

As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it decreased by 0.84% over the past week to stand at 116.43 points.

International Forex Market:

The euro/dollar rose only by 0.01% to €/$ 1.0643. The euro’s advance was not substantial because the Federal Reserve’s statement and US inflation figures supported the dollar.

The head of the Federal Reserve hinted at the possibility of future interest rate hikes on Tuesday, a statement reinforced further by inflation data released on Wednesday showing that US January inflation hit its highest level since 2013 to reach 0.6%.

Commodities:

Over the week, gold prices increased from $1,225.40/ounce on February 10th to $1,242.91/ounce this week. 

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