| 07/10/2022 | 30/09/2022 | %Change | YTD | |
| Euro / LP | 1,474.83 | 1,480.81 | -0.40% | -13.69% |
| Euro / Dollar | 0.9783 | 0.9823 | -0.40% | -13.68% |
| NEER Index | 172.62 | 172.01 | 0.35% | 15.18% |
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 by October 07, 2022.
Meanwhile, on the parallel market this week, the Lebanese national currency has fluctuated around LBP/USD 39,280 with a minimum of LBP/USD 38,550 and ended the week at LBP/USD 39,750, an all-time high level since start of the financial crisis.
As for the Euro/LBP currency pair, the Euro depreciated slightly against the dollar-pegged LBP with the currency pair going from last week €/LBP 1,480.81 to €/LBP 1,474.83 by October 07, 2022. Moreover, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the Lebanese pound slightly increased marginally by 0.35% weekly to stand at 172.62 points on October 07, 2022.
International Forex Market
The dollars remained resilient against its major competitors early Friday as investors closely watched the highly anticipated Nonfarm payrolls report for September. In more details, the dollar index increased against the six major currencies, and traded 0.47% higher at $112.19, up from last week $111.67.
The Euro plunged against the dollar by the end of the week, closed at $0.9783. After having crossed 0.9900 levels during this week, the euro currency came under bearish pressure and dropped ahead of the retail sales and industrial production data of Germany contracted by 1.3% and 0.8%, respectively, on a monthly basis in August, which make it harder for the euro currency to maintain higher demand.
Meanwhile, the GBP/USD price re-picked strongly this week and stood at 1.1190 on Friday after falling sharply from a high 1.1496 on Tuesday thanks to the U.K. government’s reversal of its planned cut to the highest rate of income tax.
As for the Swiss Franc, it slightly appreciated to 0.9881 on Friday but parity with dollars remained broke. Although the Swiss economy is considered as a safety play, the country would ultimately face challenges same as the Europeans are facing, mainly due to a lack of energy.
Beyond Europe, the Japanese currency appreciated by 0.05% this week and stood at 144.82 against the dollars while the Chinese Yuan remained stable at 7.1135 against the dollar with no major changes recorded. As for the Canadian dollar, the CAD/USD pair slumped to 1.3718 from last week’s level of 1.3826.
Concerning the Australian currency, it insignificantly added 0.25% and hovered at around 0.6418 on Friday as the Reserve Bank of Australia surprised the market by lifting interest rates by a smaller than expected 25 basis points and highlighted that additional tightening would be taken.
Commodities
Gold prices added 2.38% on a weekly basis to $1,710.76/ounce. the yellow metal jumped this week to above the support level of $1,700 as investors weighed whether the Federal Reserve might adjust from it tough stance after the release of the US job data.
Crude oil prices added 7.82% this week to $88.61/barrel after the OPEC+ agreed to tighten global supply with a deal to cut production targets by 2 million barrels per day.