| 14/10/2022 | 07/10/2022 | %Change | YTD | |
| Euro / LP | 1,468.46 | 1,474.83 | -0.43% | -14.06% |
| Euro / Dollar | 0.9741 | 0.9783 | -0.43% | -14.05% |
| NEER Index | 173.43 | 172.62 | 0.47% | 15.72% |
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 39,700 with a minimum of LBP/USD 39,400 and ended the week at LBP/USD 39,900, 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 1,474.83 by October 07, 2022 to €/LBP 1468.46 by October 14, 2022. Moreover, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the Lebanese pound slightly increased marginally by 0.47% weekly to stand at 173.43 points on October 14, 2022.
International Forex Market
The US dollar remained resilient against its major competitors early Friday; in more details, the dollar index increased against the six major currencies, and traded 0.73% higher at $113.01, up from last week $112.19.
The Euro plunged further against the dollar by the end of the week, closed at $0.9741. Indeed, the euro hit parity against the US dollar on July 12, 2022, and is now trading at its weakest level since 2002. Concerns over energy security and an upcoming recession in the eurozone along with the widening differential of interest rate between the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Fed are all placing bearish pressure on the euro. Unfortunately, these factors are unlikely to fade anytime soon, and the euro is expected to depreciate further.
Meanwhile, the GBP/USD price re-picked strongly this week and stood at 1.1266 on October 14, 2022, noting that it reached a low level of 1.0968 on October 11. Nevertheless, Market participants seem to be refraining from betting on further pound strength as British Prime Minister Liz Truss was looking to make drastic changes to the mini budget amid intense political pressure.
As for the Swiss Franc, it slightly appreciated to 1.0031 on Friday, versus 0.9881 Swiss/ Dollar the previous week. Nevertheless, the country is ultimately facing challenges same as the European zone related to direct and indirect consequences of geopolitical developments such as inflation, raw material and energy prices, blocking the supply chain and energy supply.
Beyond Europe, the Japanese and Chinese Yuan currencies appreciated respectively by 2% and 1.2% this week, reaching JPY/US 147.71 and CNY/US 7.1991. In addition, the Canadian dollar also deppreciated this week as the CAD/USD pair rose to 1.3799 from last week’s level of 1.3718. In contract, the Australian currency highly depreciated by 2.06% to reach 0.6286 on Friday, October 14.
Commodities
Gold prices slumped significantly by 3.36% on a weekly basis to $1,653.2/ounce, versus 1710.76/ ounce in the previous week. In fact, gold dropped to its lowest level since April 2020 as the Federal Reserve will continue increasing interest rates in their next meetings in November and December in order to tackle inflation.
Crude oil prices decreased insignificantly by 0.16% this week to $88.47/barrel after the OPEC+ agreed to tighten global supply with a deal to cut production targets by 2 million barrels per day.