| 29/09/2023 | 22/09/2023 | %Change | YTD | |
| Euro / LP | 15,879.00 | 15,970.50 | -0.57% | 889.20% |
| Euro / Dollar | 1.0586 | 1.0647 | -0.57% | -0.58% |
| NEER Index | 238.80 | 238.09 | 0.30% | 40.03% |
Lebanese Forex Market
The Lebanese Pound (LBP) remained steady within the new official rate of USD/LBP 15,000 by September 29, 2023.
On the parallel market, the Lebanese national currency remained steady this week with almost same average as previous week of 89,573 LBP/USD. The pair LBP/USD recorded a minimum of 89,500 LBP/USD and a maximum of 89,700 LBP/USD during the course of this week.
As for the Euro/LBP currency pair, the Euro depreciated further against the dollar-pegged LBP with the currency pair going down from last week €/LBP 15,970.50 to €/LBP 15,879 by September 29, 2023. The Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the Lebanese pound registered a slight increase during the course of the week to stand at 238.80 points on September 29, 2023.
International Forex Market
This week, the dollar index held its upward position by the end of the week, reaching 105.868 on Friday September 29, 2023. In fact, the strength of the dollar Index continues to be bolstered by the robust state of the US economy, which is, in turn, supported by the Federal Reserve’s renewed commitment to a prolonged period of tighter monetary policy.
In turn, the Euro currency remained under selling pressure and traded in negative territory for this week. The EUR/USD pair currently trades near 1.0591 down by 0.53% from previous week. Meanwhile, In the European economic calendar, Germany saw a 2.3% year-on-year decrease in Retail Sales for August. Moreover, the Unemployment Change registered an increase of 10,000 individuals in September, while the Unemployment Rate remained stable at 5.7%. Later today, the focus will shift to the flash Inflation Rate for the wider euro area, which might push the euro currency up, with the dollar redirected to record a downtrend correction.
As for the UK, the British pound recovered somehow on Friday but ended the week 0.27% lower at GBP/USD 1.2243 on September 29, 2023 as risk appetite of investors improved amid expectation of lower inflation in Eurozone.
For other currencies in Europe, the USD/CHF edged higher by 0.66% by the end of this week to stand at USD/CHF 0.9110. Looking ahead, traders will monitor economic data, in particular, the Swiss annual retail sales for August and the US Core personal consumption expenditure price index and most importantly the inflation data.
Meanwhile, the USD/JPY pair kept its positive momentum for the second week on the back of the policy rate decision of BoJ and recorded a 0.54% gain to stand at USD/JPY 148.86 on Friday September 29, 2023.
Elsewhere, the Australian appreciated by 0.70% from the previous week to stand at 0.6471 AUD/USD. The positive Australian Private Sector Credit data provides some limited backing to the Australian dollars. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, August retail sales showed a monthly increase lower than the market expectation. This weaker consumer spending data could potentially influence the Reserve Bank of Australian to maintain its interest rate unchanged in the comping week.
Furthermore, the Canadian dollar remained somehow stable with a slight increase of 0.07% to stand at USD/CAD 1.3456, by Friday September 29, 2023 driven by high oil prices, as the country is the leading oil exporter to the United States.
Commodities
Gold prices experienced prolonged losses for four consecutive days this week and ended the week 2.84% lower at $1,870.71/ounce after hitting a low of $1,800/ounce during Thursday’s session. The recovery on Friday stems from its bounce back from March’s lowest levels, mainly driven by a correction in the US dollar due to relatively moderate economic data from the US and EU.
Oil prices rose to a new 2023 high near the $95.13/barrel closer to the $100 mark after stockpiles at a major US storage hub dropped to critical levels, highlighting a widening global deficit.