The Lebanese Central Bank’s balance sheet conveys some $83.78 million (0.53%) expansion in BDL’s foreign assets portfolio during the first half of September 2024 to $15.79 billion (LBP 1,413.31 trillion). The liquid foreign reserve assets of the Central Bank, when factoring out the face value of the ROL Eurobonds portfolio held by BDL amounting to circa $5.21 billion, stood at $10.60 billion as at mid-September 2024, up from $10.52 billion a fortnight earlier. Similarly, the value of gold reserves at BDL increased by 1.86% ($433.63 million) in the first half of September to $23.70 billion (LBP 2,121.40 trillion) as gold prices increased to an all-time-high amid growing expectations of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

On an annual basis, BDL’s foreign assets came in 13.30% ($1.85 billion) higher than the $13.94 billion reading reported at mid-September 2023. Similarly, the value of gold reserves settled 33.99% ($6.01 billion) higher when benchmarked to the $17.69 billion figure recorded in the same period in 2023.

In a related note, BDL’s balance sheet expanded by 0.13% on a bi-weekly basis to LBP 8,485.19 trillion as at mid-September 2024. This owes to the 1.86% rise in in the value of gold reserves coupled with the 0.53% increase in the value of foreign assets, the 1.52% expansion in the deferred open-market operations (which includes deferred interest costs stemming from open-market operations) account to LBP 162.02 trillion and the 8.47% rise in the value of other assets to LBP 18.37 trillion, altogether outweighing the 1.21% decrease in the valuation adjustment account to LBP 3,143.24 trillion, the 0.20% drop in the value of the securities portfolio to LBP 127.35 trillion and the 1.91% decrease in loans to the local financial sector to LBP 12.10 trillion.

The share of BDL’s foreign assets and gold reserves stood at 16.66% and 25.00% respectively of the latter’s total balance sheet as at mid-September 2024, compared to 16.59% and 24.58% two weeks earlier.