| 10/12/2021 | 03/12/2021 | %Change | YTD | |
| Euro / LP | 1,696.77 | 1,702.80 | -0.35% | -7.73% |
| Euro / Dollar | 1.1256 | 1.1296 | -0.35% | -7.73% |
| NEER Index | 152.72 | 150.06 | 1.78% | 22.33% |
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 December 10, 2021.
The Lebanese Lira has depreciated against the dollar by 12% on average (compared to last week) and recorded approximately LBP/USD 25,500 at the end of this week. In fact BDL has issued intermediate circular 601 that increase the “lollar” rate from LBP/USD 3,900 to LBP /USD 8,000. This circular was absorbed negatively on the parallel market as the national currency has slumped against the dollar and reached LBP/USD 25,500. It was a surprising decision by BDL as the governor in a previous statement has declared that any increase on the “lollar” rate will have a negative impact on the national currency. Most probably, a political pressure is behind this decision as increasing the rate of “lollar” without any plan to refrain the deterioration of Lebanese lira will have a significant effect on our national currency.
In turn, the dollarization ratio for private sector deposits increased from 80.05% in September 2021 to 80.09% in October 2021.
As for Euro/LBP currency pair, the Euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LBP with the currency pair going from last week €/LBP 1,702.80 to €/LBP 1,696.77 by December 10, 2021. Moreover, the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP slightly increased weekly by 1.78% to stand at 152.72 points on December 10, 2021.
International Forex Market
The Euro/USD depreciated against the dollar from last week €/USD 1.1296 to €/USD 1.1256 by December 10, 2021. The risk sentiment is high as investors are being bearish amid Omicron concerns. In these circumstances, investors prefer to hold a safe currency like dollar against other currencies.
Commodities
Gold price slightly decreased by 0.04% at the end of this week to $1,771.78/ounce as the dollar index strengthened this week. The price of gold will be mostly linked to the inflation rate and the global pandemic.
In addition, Crude oil prices made a rebound this week and increased by 4.07% to $75.02/Barrel. In fact, the fears of the new variant are eased as the new reports have showed that the Omciron variant is not dangerous as the case with Delta variant.