The Consumer Price Index (CPI), calculated monthly by the Central Administration of Statistics, showed a rise of 1.97 percent in July on a monthly basis and 35.37 percent on an annual basis.

Although high, the latter rate is significantly lower than the 41.78 percent recorded in June. This trend is expected to continue into next month, as August 2023 marks the beginning of the stabilization of the exchange rate around its current level of 89,700 LL to the dollar, after approaching this level for several months.

This phase in the exchange rate’s evolution, which deviated from the official parity of 1,507.5 LL to the dollar at the start of the economic and financial crisis in 2019, coincides with the appointment of the caretaker governor of the Banque du Liban, Wassim Manssouri, replacing Riad Salamé, who served six terms at the helm of the institution, the last one being very tumultuous. To control the exchange rate from April to August 2023, the BDL primarily focused on limiting the circulation of Lebanese pounds, given the country’s difficulty in attracting capital.

On a monthly basis, the most significant increase was seen in healthcare spending (up 17.33 percent), far ahead of the prices in restaurants and hotels (up 2.39 percent) and the prices of food products and housing expenses (up 1.77 percent, a category that includes rent and utilities).

On the decline side, telecom prices dropped by 2.87 percent, furniture prices by 1.59 percent, and leisure prices by 1.38 percent.

However, there were only monthly increases in the regional breakdowns of the CPI. The Bekaa region led the way (up 3.03 percent), followed by Beirut (up 2.64 percent), North Lebanon (up 2.18 percent), Mount Lebanon (up 1.91 percent), South Lebanon (up 0.79 percent), and Nabatieh (up 0.51 percent).