The greenback is down amid weak GDP growth rate

 29/10/202122/10/2021%ChangeYTD
Euro / LP1,753.541,752.630.05%-4.64%
Euro / Dollar1.16321.16260.05%-4.64%
NEER Index143.22143.080.10%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 29, 2021.

This week, the national currency remained flat at the rate of USD/LBP 20,000. The political deadlock continued for the second consecutive week as the government has not organized any meeting since the clash at Tayyoune. The political parties should put the Lebanese economy as priority and work to solve their disagreements as soon as possible.

In turn, the dollarization ratio for private sector deposits decreased from 80.37% in December 2020 to 80.21% in August 2021.

As for Euro/LBP currency pair, the Euro appreciated against the dollar-pegged LBP with the currency pair going from last week €/LBP 1752.63 to €/LBP 1753.54 by October 29, 2021. Moreover, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP slightly increased weekly by 0.10% to stand at 143.22 points on October 29, 2021.

International Forex Market

The Euro/USD appreciated against the dollar from last week €/USD 1.1626 to €/USD 1.1632 by October 29, 2021. The reason behind the appreciation of the euro against the dollar was the US macroeconomic statistics that were published this week. In details, US GDP for Q3 2021 slowed more than expected to 4.9%.

Commodities

Gold price slightly decreased by 0.10% at the end of this week to $1,792/ounce. We expect that the price of gold will increase in the upcoming weeks amid some reports that showed a rise of inflation rate due to increase in price of energy and supply chain disruptions.

In addition, Crude oil prices slightly decreased this week by 0.10% and recorded $84.64/Barrel. The decrease of crude oil prices this week is explained by a political development regarding the gas crisis in Europe. In details, the Russian president instructed the country’s state-controlled natural gas company to pump more supplies into the EU, prompting the immediate fall in prices.

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