A stack of LL100,000 banknotes. (João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s inflation rate rose slightly last month, from 7.42 percent in July to 7.55 percent in August, according to the monthly consumer price index (CPI), published Tuesday by the government’s Central Administration of Statistics (CAS).
Consumer prices thus continued to rise according to the index, which tracks how far prices have risen since December 2013. According to the index, an item that cost LL100 at the end of 2013 now costs LL1,486.59, as of August 2022. In July, that same item would have cost LL1,382.22.
Year-on-year, however, the inflation rate has been slowing its growth since July, although it is still in triple digits — inflation growth was estimated at 168.45 percent in July, then in August at 161.89 percent.
On a monthly basis, the costs for telecoms services are the only items to have seen three-digit inflation in August, at 144.57 percent. This is no surprise given the new telecom tariffs in Lebanon, which came into effect on July 1.
Telecoms services were followed by restaurant and hotel prices (10.35 percent month-by-month inflation) and health sector prices (8.56 percent inflation), while education sector costs registered no inflation. Water, electricity, gas and other fuel prices even fell slightly (0.31 percent inflation).
On the other hand, year-on-year, the fuel once again took the prize for the highest inflation with a score of 394.27 percent inflation as the global energy crisis continues amid the Russian-Ukrainian war. Next in line are transport prices (294.85 percent inflation), health care prices (271.23 inflation), and communication prices (207.91 inflation).
Finally, month-by-month prices increased in each governorate, starting with the region of Nabatieh (8.57 percent), followed by South Lebanon (8.16 percent), Mount Lebanon (7.54 percent), Beirut (7.52 percent), Bekaa (7.34 percent) and North Lebanon (7.10 percent).