| 13/08/2021 | 06/08/2021 | %Change | YTD | |
| Euro / LP | 1,771.91 | 1,777.78 | -0.33% | -3.64% |
| Euro / Dollar | 1.1754 | 1.1793 | -0.33% | -3.64% |
| NEER Index | 141.28 | 140.99 | 0.21% | 13.17% |
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 in the week of August 13, 2021.
The situation is getting worse in Lebanon and we can say that we are in economic freefall. This week, BDL governor Riad Salame has announced that BDL cannot continue to subsidize oil. In fact, this event will open a new phase in the financial crisis as for now most of the basic needs like electricity, wheat and other important stuff might not be accessible in the upcoming days.
In turn, the dollarization ratio for private sector deposits increased from 80.37% in December 2020 to 80.27% in June 2021.
As for Euro/LBP currency pair, the Euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LBP with the currency pair going from last week €/LBP 1,777.78 to €/LBP 1,771.91 by August 13, 2021. Moreover, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP slightly increased by 0.21% since 06 August 2021 to stand at 141.28 points on August 13, 2021.
International Forex Market
The Euro/USD slightly depreciated against the dollar from last week €/USD 1.1793 to €/USD 1.1754 by August 13, 2021.This week, July US CPI was released and witnessed an increase by 0.5% on a month-over-month basis. However, this increase was less than expected by some economists, while the greenback recorded good rate against basket of currencies.
Commodities
Gold price retreated by 2.15% at the end of this week to $1,759.24/ounce. The Fed reserve believes that the US inflation is transitory due to the big rebound that is happening in the US market after the pandemic, as the gold price also retreated this week.
In addition, Crude oil prices decreased this week by 0.68% to reach $71.21/Barrel amid the announcement of the International Energy Agency (IEA) that the new strain of Corona virus will slow the recovery of global oil demand.