| 20/08/2021 | 13/08/2021 | %Change | YTD | |
| Euro / LP | 1,755.29 | 1,771.91 | -0.94% | -4.55% |
| Euro / Dollar | 1.1644 | 1.1754 | -0.94% | -4.55% |
| NEER Index | 141.74 | 141.28 | 0.33% | 13.54% |
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 20, 2021.
The Lebanese tragedy continues as no solution has been elaborate between the ministry of energy and the Governor of BDL Riad Salame regarding the importation of fuels. As a result, many of international gas company like Coral and Total are planning to shut down their business in Lebanon due to this crisis. All this is happening while the political deadlock is still dominating the Lebanese scene with a little hope to from the awaited government.
In turn, the dollarization ratio for private sector deposits decreased 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 1,771.91 to €/LBP 1,755.29 by August 20, 2021. Moreover, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP slightly increased by 0.33% since 13 August 2021 to stand at 141.74 points on August 20, 2021.
International Forex Market
The Euro/USD slightly depreciated against the dollar from last week €/USD 1.1754 to €/USD 1.1644 by August 20, 2021.The Delta coronavirus variant are pushing the investors to be more pessimistic regarding the global economic recovery and they prefer the greenback currency as it considered a safe haven investment over some other riskier currencies.
Commodities
Gold price increased by 1.22% at the end of this week to $1,780.7/ounce. Despite the strong performance of dollar, the gold also record a good performance this week and edge higher. Of course, the price of gold went up this week due to another spike in COVID-19 that could slow the global economic recovery.
In addition, Crude oil prices decreased this week by 7.72% and recorded $65.71/Barrel, amid concerns about the global demand due to massive spread of the Delta variant.