| 03/12/2021 | 26/11/2021 | %Change | YTD | |
| Euro / LP | 1,702.80 | 1,697.78 | 0.30% | -7.40% |
| Euro / Dollar | 1.1296 | 1.1262 | 0.30% | -7.40% |
| NEER Index | 152.32 | 150.06 | 1.51% | 22.01%
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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 December 03, 2021.
The Lebanese Lira has appreciated against the dollar by 10% on average (compared to last week) and recorded approximately LBP/USD 22,500 at the end of this week. To understand what is really happening on the parallel market we have to take a look at the political development that occurred this week. In details, the French President “Emmanuel Macron” will be visiting Saudi Arabia next week, and he will certainly discuss the diplomatic crisis between Lebanon and the Gulf countries with the Saudi authorities. Furthermore, Lebanese minister “Georges Kordahi” has resigned today, while some analysts have considered this resignation as a positive step in order to end the diplomatic crisis between Lebanon and KSA.
In turn, the dollarization ratio for private sector deposits decreased from 80.11% in August 2021to 80.05% in September 2021.
As for Euro/LBP currency pair, the Euro appreciated against the dollar-pegged LBP with the currency pair going from last week €/LBP 1,697.78 to €/LBP 1702.80 by December 03, 2021. Moreover, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP slightly increased weekly by 1.51% to stand at 152.32 points on December 03, 2021.
International Forex Market
The Euro/USD appreciated against the dollar from last week €/USD 1.1262 to €/USD 1.1296 by December 03, 2021. In fact, the forex market is uncertain amid the new variant of corona virus. The fed and the ECB are desperate to control the inflation rate, however any step toward a tight political monetary can back fire due to the new variant that could refrain the global economic rebound.
Commodities
Gold price slightly decreased by 1.79% at the end of this week to $1,772.54/ounce despite Omicron fears. The price of gold will be mostly determined based on the effect of new variant of corona virus on the global economy and the future path of the inflation rate.
In addition, Crude oil prices slumped this week by 8.02% and recorded $71.6/Barrel. However, OPEC+ will reconsider its production if oil demand collapsed due to the global pandemic.