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 $38.78B in May 2017 compared to $40.71B in December 2016.
The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits rose from 65.82% in December 2016 to 66.38% by the end of April 2017.
By Friday June 9, the euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LP going from €/LBP 1,691.26 on June 2nd to €/LBP 1,684.93, this week.
As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it rose by 0.07% over the past week to stand at 114.28 points.
International Forex Market:
The dollar strengthened against the euro this week rising by a 0.37% to €/$ 1.1177. The euro weakened broadly after the European Central Bank on Thursday cut its forecast for inflation this year to 1.5%, down from 1.7% in March.
Commodities:
Gold prices rose this week from $1,262.83/ounce to $1,274.22/ounce.