Lebanese Forex Market
Demand for the dollar remained stable on the Lebanese Forex market with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,514 – 1,514. 5 with a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25 since last week.
Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank reached $39.76B in mid-April 2017 compared to $36.31B in the same period last year.
The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits rose from 64.7% in February 2016 to 65.9% in February 2017.
By Friday May 05th, 2017, the euro appreciated against the dollar-pegged LP going from €/LBP 1,646.58 on May 28th to €/LBP 1,652.07, this week.
As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it increased by 0.10% over the past week to stand at 115.68 points.
International Forex Market:
The euro gained more ground against the dollar this past week increasing by 2.23% to €/$ 1.0959.
The euro’s strength came about on account of data pointing to a strong Eurozone economy. In contrast, US economic data for the first quarter was disappointing and uncertainty continues to loom around the implementation of Trump’s growth-boosting initiatives promised during his campaign.
Commodities:
Gold prices fell again this week from $1,266.44/ounce to $1,233.60/ounce this week, as markets breathed after surveys showed that Emmanuel Macron was the most convincing candidate during the last debate before Sunday’s French elections.