The Lebanese foreign exchange market has recently witnessed some offer for the US Dollar, as some market players converted their FC holdings into LP holdings to settle VAT payments, noted ‘Lebanon Weekly Monitor’ report issued by Bank Audi.

Such brought the LBP/$ interbank rate down from LBP 1,513-LBP 1,514 to LBP 1,511-LBP 1,512, during the previous week, Jan 12-18, 2015. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Lebanon remained on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Lebanon’s latest bi-monthly balance sheet ending January 15, 2015 highlighted that foreign assets surged by $179 million during the first half of January, posting $38.0 billion by mid-January 2015.

Accordingly, the Bank’s foreign assets covered 79.1% of LBP money supply, with this coverage ratio increasing to 103.3%, when accounting for gold reserves estimated at $11.6 billion.

Moreover, the Bank’s foreign assets covered 21.8 months of imports. The report spotlighted that “Such ratios reflect the Central Bank’s strong ability to defend the currency peg and maintain stable monetary conditions.”

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