Lebanese Forex Market
Despite the political shocks in Lebanon, BDL’s high foreign assets of $43.48B and the comforting political and economic declarations of political leaders helped reduce the pressures exerted on the pound. As such, demand for the local currency steadied over the past week on the Lebanese forex market with the value of the Lebanese Pound trading within the range of $/LP 1,513.75-1,514.25 with a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.
The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits rose from 65.82% in December 2016 to 66.92% by the end of September 2017.
By Friday November 10, the euro slightly appreciated against the dollar-pegged LP going from €/LBP 1,759.26, last week, to €/LBP 1,759.71, this week.
As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it rose by 0.09% over the past week to stand at 112.91 points.
International Forex Market:
The dollar weakened this week, pressured by worries over possible delays to President Donald Trump’s tax reform plans. On Wednesday, November 8, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul gave the possibility of a delay in implementing a huge corporate tax cut. Hence, the Euro-Dollar exchange rate rose from 1.1673, last week, to 1.1670.
Commodities:
Gold prices increased from $1,274.40/ounce last week to $1,283.36/ounce this week.