| 25/06/2021 | 18/06/2021 | %Change | YTD | |
| Euro / LP | 1,797.50 | 1,794.56 | 0.16% | -2.25% |
| Euro / Dollar | 1.1924 | 1.1904 | 0.16% | -2.25% |
| NEER Index | 140.53 | 140.54 | -0.01% | 12.57% |
Lebanese Forex Market
To-date, the Lebanese Pound (LBP) remained steady within the official range of USD/LBP 1,514 to 1,514.5, with a mid- price of USD/LBP 1,514.25 in the week of June 25, 2021.
The Lebanese lira continues its devaluation in the parallel market and hit 16,500LBP/USD by the end of the week of 25, June 2021. The depreciation of Lebanese lira was expected due to lifting of subsidies on the majorities of the essential goods, BDL foreign reserves continue their depletion.
In turn, the dollarization ratio for private sector deposits decreased from 80.37% in December 2020 to 80.24% in March 2021.
As for Euro/LBP currency pair, the Euro appreciated against the dollar-pegged LBP with the currency pair going from last week’s €/LBP 1,794.56 to €/LBP 1,797.50 by June 25, 2021. Moreover, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP decreased by 0.01% since 18 June 2021 to stand at 140.53 points on 25 June 2021.
International Forex Market
The Euro/USD appreciated against the dollar from last week’s €/USD 1.1904 to €/USD 1.1924 by June 25, 2021. Despite the slightly increase in Euro against the dollar, however the greenback will likely rebound in the next weeks, especially after the U.S federal reserve announced that they will raise the interest rates and curtail bond-buying sooner than expected. In fact, the U.S Federal Reserve will be applying a tight monetary policy by increasing interest rates in order to reduce the higher inflation. As such, we expect that US. Dollar will improve for the upcoming weeks.
Commodities
Gold price slightly decreased by 0.53% at the end of this week to $1,782/ounce. The high interest rates will likely decrease further the gold price, as the U.S. Federal Reserve will apply a tight monetary policy in order to protect the value of its currency.
In addition, Crude oil prices increased this week by 3.65% to reach $75.34/Barrel. The price of crude oil is up more than 11% in the past month. The consecutive increase of the price of crude oil reflects the economic recovery that is increasing the global demands.