| 22/10/2021 | 08/10/2021 | %Change | YTD | |
| Euro / LP | 1,752.63 | 1,759.35 | -0.38% | -4.69% |
| Euro / Dollar | 1.1626 | 1.1671 | -0.38% | -4.69% |
| NEER Index | 143.08 | 142.22 | 0.61% | 0.00% |
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 October 22, 2021.
This week, the national currency depreciated against the dollar in the parallel market and reached approximately USD/LBP 20,000 by week ending October 22, 2021. The political stability is mandatory in order to apply the necessary reforms to save the Lebanese economy and minimize the crisis effect on the Lebanese people. Unfortunately, our politicians are not aware of that, and the government has stopped its meeting amid the political clash between different political parties in Lebanon. Without government meeting there will be no effective negotiations with the IMF while Lebanese people are suffering to secure their basic needs.
In turn, the dollarization ratio for private sector deposits decreased from 80.37% in December 2020 to 80.21% in July 2021.
As for Euro/LBP currency pair, the Euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LBP with the currency pair going from last week €/LBP 1759.35 to €/LBP 1752.63 by October 22, 2021. Moreover, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP slightly increased weekly by 0.61% to stand at 143.08 points on October 22, 2021.
International Forex Market
The Euro/USD depreciated against the dollar from last week €/USD 1.1671 to €/USD 1.1626 by October 22, 2021. We expect that the Euro depreciates further in the few upcoming weeks amid the political tensions regarding the rule of law between the EU and Poland and Hungary.
Commodities
Gold price increased by 1.93% at the end of this week to $1,793.8/ounce, despite a strong US dollar. We expect that the price of gold will continue to be volatile in the upcoming weeks amid expectations that the central bank will begin easing economic support.
In addition, Crude oil prices increased this week by 3.47% and recorded $85.33/Barrel. In fact, the recent gas crisis in Europe has increased the demand on the black gold as some power generators are switching from gas to fuel oil and diesel. Either way, this will fuel inflation rates in the immediate future.