Lebanon’s price index continued to rise in September

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s consumer price index (CPI) rose for a second consecutive month in September, ending a run of very slight declines observed at the beginning of the summer.

Published monthly by the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), which is attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, the CPI rose by 1.35 % month-on-month, bringing the annual increase to 17.53 % — slightly above June’s level — amid tensions in hydrocarbon markets triggered by the regional war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran last February. On average, the CPI rose by 16.3 % over the first nine months of the year.

In September, fuel prices, which are regulated by the Ministry of Energy, rose by around 10 to 12 % for gasoline and diesel, and by more than 14 % for domestic gas canisters. It is therefore unsurprising that the CPI components recording the largest increases that month were those tracking energy prices, which rose by 5.06 % month-on-month and 38.91 % year-on-year. Transport followed, up 3.73 % month-on-month and 35.23 % year-on-year, while energy for housing rose by 2.52 % and 20.41 %, respectively.

The only component to record a decline, albeit a very slight one, was food prices, excluding alcohol and tobacco, which fell by 0.23 % month-on-month, while rising by 10.04 % year-on-year.

At the governorate level, the CPI rose by 2.2 % in the Bekaa, bringing the year-on-year increase to 22.44 %. Nabatieh recorded a monthly rise of 1.65 % and an annual increase of 19.72 %, followed by Beirut, where prices rose by 1.45 % month-on-month and 13.31 % year-on-year. South Lebanon recorded a monthly increase of 1.17 %, followed by North Lebanon at 1.1 %, with an annual increase of 18.04 %.