Lebanese Forex Market:
Demand for the Lebanese Pound steadied this week as the exchange rate remained in the same range of $/LP 1,510.5-1,514.5 with a mid-price of $/LP 1,512.5.
Foreign assets (excluding gold) of the Central Bank rose by a monthly 0.20% to $37.81B at the end of November 2015. As for the dollarization rate of private sector deposits, it slid from 65.71% in December 2014 to 64.62% by September this year.
By Friday 11th of December, 2015, 15:30 pm Beirut time, the dollar-pegged LP depreciated against the euro as the exchange rate rose by a weekly 0.50% from €/LP 1,641.97 to €/LP 1,650.11 . As for the Nominal effective exchange Rate (NEER), it decreased by a weekly 0.64% to 169.19 points.
International Forex Market:
The euro advanced against the dollar for the second week running after the European Central Bank did not engage in the aggressive stimulus the markets had expected, gaining 0.50% to €/$ 1.0946.
Commodities:
The price of gold declined from last week’s $1,072.66/ounce to $1,064 /ounce as markets expect the dollar to rebound after the Federal Reserve raises interest rates later this month.