US Partial Government Shutdown Weigh Down on the Dollar

Lebanese Forex Market.

The Lebanese Pound steadied this week within the range of $/LP 1,514 – 1,514.5 against the dollar with a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25.

The peg continues to be supported by the Central Bank’s solid foreign assets, which reached $40.88B by the end of November 2018.

The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits rose from 68.72% in December 2017 to 69.51% in October 2018.

Over the week, the Euro appreciated against the dollar-pegged LP, ending the week at €/LBP 1,727.73 compared to €/LBP. 1,722.77 last week.

In turn, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP recorded a downtick of 0.24 % during the week, to 117.85 points by December 28, 2018.

International Forex Market

The Euro appreciated against the dollar this week. The currency pair went from last week’s €/USD 1.1428 to 1.1461 €/USD. In fact, the US dollar weakened as a result of the US government partial shutdown which triggered concerns of a global economic slowdown.

 Commodities

Gold prices rose over the week, going from $1,255.92/ounce last week, to $1,275.13/ounce by the week ending Dec. 27 , 2018.

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