Stronger Dollar Two Weeks After Interest Rate Hike

Lebanese Forex Market

Demand for the dollar on the Lebanese forex market increased over the past week, going from a mid-price of $/LP 1,514 within the range $/LP 1,513.75-1,514.25, to a mid-price of $/LP 1,514.25 within the range $/LP 1,514-1,514.50 on Friday.

Foreign assets (excluding gold) at the Central Bank increased 8.56% since the beginning of the year to $40.27B by November 2016, boosted by the recent swap executed by BDL with the MoF and Lebanese banks. The dollarization ratio of private sector deposits increased from 64.88% in December 2015 to 65.10% in October 2016.

By Friday the 23^rd of December 2016, the euro depreciated against the dollar-pegged LP over the last week, going from €/LBP 1,577.30 to €/LBP 1,576.24. As for the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the LBP, it increased marginally by 0.17% to reach 119.17 points.

International Forex Market:

The euro witnessed further depreciation this week as the Fed’s interest rate hike’s consequences stand. Hence, the Euro fell from €/$ 1.0463 last week, to €/$1.0456 this week.

Commodities:

Over the past week, gold prices decreased from $1,133/ounce last week, to $1,128/ounce on Friday.