| 23/12/2022 | 16/12/2022 | %Change | YTD | |
| Euro / LP | 1,595.98 | 1,601.76 | -0.36% | -6.60% |
| Euro / Dollar | 1.0587 | 1.0625 | -0.36% | -6.59% |
| NEER Index | 170.42 | 170.01 | 0.24% | 13.71% |
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 December 16, 2022.
Meanwhile, on the parallel market this week, the Lebanese national currency has been wavering at all-time high levels of 45,400 LBP/USD with a minimum of 44,300 and a maximum of 46,500. Lebanon is still witnessing high levels of inflation despite recent downturns, hence recent presidential vacuum, along with complete inaction and lack of effective political will putting additional pressure on the national currency which is projected to register further depreciation until a well-defined structural reform plan would be on the horizon.
As for the Euro/LBP currency pair, the Euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LBP with the currency pair going from last week €/LBP 1,601.76 by December 16, 2022, to €/LBP 1,595.98 by December 23, 2022. Moreover, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the Lebanese pound added 0.24% weekly to stand at 170.42 points on December 23, 2022.
International Forex Market
On Friday, the US dollar slightly dropped against its major competitors, as the dollar index was trading 0.08% lower compared to last week at 104.36 despite higher-than-expected US GDP which recorded a 3.2% increase annually in the third quarter.
In Europe, after last week’s boost for the Euro currency due to ECB rate decision, the Euro currency has brought a fairly consistent range and ended the week slightly lower at $1.0587 which keeps the door open for bears.
While, the EUR/USD has been in a quite range during the week, the GBP/USD was trading lower after a disappointing Q3 UK GDP report came out well-below expectations printing at 1.9% compared to 2.4% expected. As such, the British pound dropped by 1.04% to stand at $1.2046 by Friday, December 23, 2022.
Concerning the Japanese currency, the Yen traded at 132.66 this Friday December 23, 3.20% lower from last week previous 137.05. the core consumer price index for the month of November rose by 3.7% YOY but remained above BoJ target of 2%. Hence, Central Bank of Japan’ meeting minutes showed that BoJ kept the monetary setting unchanged, while few policymakers noted that the sharp decline in Yen could heighten uncertainty for firms and market.
Back to China, the Yuan strengthened past a key level and ended the week 0.25% higher at $6.9881 as the authorities accelerated a shift toward reopening the economy and more investors turned bullish. Finally, the Canadian Dollar was putting in a support bounce but traded lower by 0.35% at 1.3604 compared to previous week of December 16.
Commodities
Gold prices was on track for a weekly uptick by 1.22% to stand at $1,797.58/ounce on December 23, 2022, compared to $1,775.99/ ounce last week. The Gold remains in spot in the wake of data that showed the US economy is still resilient, stocking concern aggressive rate hikes would continue.
Crude oil’ prices recorded a significant jump by the end of the week and traded 3.78% higher to reach $78.99 on December 23, 2022, compared to the previous week of December 16. The increase in oil prices was driven by expectations that Russian oil export could fall by 20% in December which reflected a surge in prices of Brent crude futures and WTI futures.