The Lebanese Central Bank’s balance sheet conveys some $128.71 million appreciation (0.88%) in BDL’s foreign assets portfolio during the second half of February 2024 to $14.78 billion (LBP 1,323.22 trillion), noting that this figure includes the face value of the ROL Eurobonds portfolio held by BDL amounting to circa $5.21 billion. The liquid foreign reserve assets of the Central Bank stood at $9.58 billion as at end of February 2024, up from $9.46 billion a fortnight earlier. Similarly, the value of gold reserves at BDL increased by 1.75% ($322.32 million) in the second half of February to $18.75 billion (LBP 1,677.75 trillion) as gold prices improved on the back of a weaker U.S. Dollar and tensions in the Red Sea.

On an annual basis, BDL’s foreign assets came in 0.33% ($0.05 billion) higher, a first annual increase in dollar terms since mid-September 2018, than the $14.74 billion reading reported as at end of February 2023. Similarly, the value of gold reserves settled 12.28% ($2.05 billion) higher when benchmarked to the $16.70 billion figure recorded in the same period in 2023.

In a related note, BDL’s balance sheet widened by 0.36% on a bi-weekly basis to LBP 8,354.24 trillion at end of February 2024. This owes to the 4.28% rise in the deferred open-market operations (which includes deferred interest costs stemming from open-market operations) account to LBP 122.93 trillion coupled with the 2.50% increase in the value of other assets to LBP 8.55 trillion and the aforementioned rise in the value of foreign assets & gold reserves, altogether outweighing the 1.20% decrease in loans to the local financial sector to LBP 15.15 trillion and with the 0.43% decrease in the valuation adjustment account to LBP 3,589.15 trillion.

The share of BDL’s foreign assets and gold reserves of the latter’s total balance sheet stood at 15.84% and 20.08% respectively at end of February 2024, compared to 15.76% and 19.81% respectively at mid-February.