Lebanese Pound Plunged Further amid economic collapse

 

07/01/202229/12/2021%Change
Euro / LP1,702.651,708.67-0.35%
Euro / Dollar1.12951.1334-0.35%
NEER Index152.63149.871.84%

 

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 January 07, 2022.

The Lebanese Lira had further depreciated against the dollar this week and recorded USD/LBP 29,900 at end of the week. Although expectations were towards a softer exchange rate for the Lebanese pound amid BDL’s circular number 161, the national currency followed a sharp downtrend due to the ongoing political bickering and the increasing demand for the dollar currency.

In turn, the dollarization ratio for private sector deposits increased from 80.05% in September 2021 to 80.09% in October 2021.

As for Euro/LBP currency pair, the Euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LBP with the currency pair going from last week €/LBP 1,708.67 to €/LBP 1,702.65 by January 07, 2022. Moreover, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP increased weekly by 1.84% to stand at 152.63 points on January 07,2022.

International Forex Market

The Euro/USD depreciated against the dollar from last week €/USD 1.1334 to €/USD 1.1295 by January 07, 2022. The depreciation of the Euro is driven by the final composite PMI which eased to 53.1 the lowest since March and is the fourth decline in five months.

Moreover, the surge in US yields pushed the dollar up but did not prevent the equity rally. In fact, the dollar remains shaky as the new Omicron variant could boost price pressures.

Commodities

Gold price decreased by 0.65% at the end of this week to $1,791.86/ounce as the dollar index appreciated. Gold traded at a softer price relatively opposing a stronger US dollar.

Crude oil prices jumped this week by 4.83% to $80.26/Barrel. The oil price has endured bit of a hit just prior to the start of year 2022 as worries about the spread of the new Covid variant and its possible impact on travel and economy. In addition, OPEC stood by their plan to increase production despite the risk of an oversupplied market. Oil prices would remain volatile although the current environment is supportive for additional oil production and as the global economy seems recovering from the pandemic.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *