| 25/08/2023 | 18/08/2023 | %Change | YTD | |
| Euro / LP | 16,167.01 | 16,303.50 | -0.84% | 907.15% |
| Euro / Dollar | 1.0778 | 1.0869 | -0.84% | 1.22% |
| NEER Index | 236.62 | 237.59 | -0.41% | 38.75% |
Lebanese Forex Market
The Lebanese Pound (LBP) remained steady within the new official rate of USD/LBP 15,000 by August 25, 2023.
On the parallel market, the Lebanese national currency remained steady this week with an average of 89,490 LBP/USD compared to an average of 89,403 LBP/USD previous week. The pair LBP/USD recorded a minimum of 89,300 LBP/USD and a maximum of 89,600 LBP/USD during the course of this week. Although the Lebanese black market rate is stable, a high uncertainty persists especially with the country’s political landscape and Central Bank’s Governance in the spotlight.
As for the Euro/LBP currency pair, the Euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LBP with the currency pair going down from last week €/LBP 16,303.5 to €/LBP 16,167.01 by August 25, 2023. The Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the Lebanese pound registered a slight drop during the course of the week to stand at 236.62 points on August 25, 2023.
International Forex Market
This week, the US Dollar gained momentum against other currencies, leading to the US Dollar Index (DXY) reaching 104.218 points up from last week 103.414 points, its highest closing value since early June. The USD maintains its robustness on Friday, with investors eagerly anticipating Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium.
Following a rebound above 1.0850 on Thursday’s European trading hours, the EUR/USD altered its course and concluded the day significantly lower. The pair sustained its downward momentum, ultimately recording a 0.90% loss for the week at approximately EUR/USD 1.0776. Earlier this week, German data indicated that the real Gross Domestic Product contracted by 0.2% annually in Q2, consistent with both the prior estimate and market forecasts.
Meanwhile the British pound lost more than 1% on a weekly basis and broke below 1.2600 on Friday August 25, 2023. The pair stays on the back foot and trades at its weakest level in over two months near 1.2583 in the European market.
As for the Japanese currency, the USD/JPY pair regained strength above 145.00 and continued its upward momentum, surpassing 146.00 in the early hours of Friday and reaching USD/ JPY 146.03 by August 25, 2023. In fact, the Annual Tokyo Consumer Price Index experienced a 2.9% increase, a decrease from July’s 3.2%, and slightly below the anticipated 3%. Kazuo Ueda, the Bank of Governor, is scheduled to deliver a speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Saturday.
Back to the west, Swiss currency extends its upside to the highest weekly close above the 0.8850 mark during the trading hours on Friday. The pair reached 0.8862 by August 25, 2023, gaining 0.74% on a weekly basis.
Elsewhere, the Australian and Canadian dollar appreciated respectively by 0.23% and 0.20% from the previous week to stand at 0.6419 AUD/USD and 1.3574 USD/CAD by August 25, 2023.
Commodities
Despite the broad-based dollar strength this week, Gold price recorded gains by 1.04% by the end of this week reaching 1,913.1/ounce on Friday August 25, 2023. However, the yellow metal stood relatively quiet and traded in a tight channel above $1,910 by the end of this week as US Treasury bond yields edged lower on dovish Fed commentary.
As for the commodities, crude oil prices jumped by 4.45% to $83.99 per barrel on August 25, 2023. The seven-week oil price rally is triggered by tightening oil markets driven mainly by supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia while China’s worsening property crisis is raised serious concerns about the health of the economy in the world’s biggest oil importer, yet oil consumption figures in China have held up suggesting those concerns might be unwarranted. Moreover, this week, BRICS announced that it would formally accept six new members at the start of 2024: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the UAE.