Lebanon’s broadest monetary aggregate M3 increased by 1% m/m in March 2013 to LBP 159.56bn (USD 105.6bn) speeding up its growth from 0.5% m/m in February, the central bank said in a report. The growth was primarily driven by a 1.6% m/m increase in foreign currency deposits to LBP 93.2tn.
Lebanon’s economy remains heavily dollarized with foreign currency deposits accounting for over 58% of money supply. Local currency time deposits stayed virtually flat m/m at LBP 58.93bn, while demand deposits rose slightly by 2% m/m to LBP 3.96bn.
On an annual basis, M3 increased by 6.9% y/y in March 2013 supported by a 5.3% y/y jump in foreign currency deposits and a 8.4% y/y hike in local currency time deposits.
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