Lebanon’s deflation narrows to 1% y/y in June on Ramadan factor

By bne IntelliNews July 21, 2016

Lebanon’s CPI contracted just 1% y/y in June, narrowing from a 2.45% annual deflation in May, as prices rose during the fasting month of Ramadan, that ended on July 5, when private consumption expanded sharply, data from the statistics office CAS showed on July 21.

However, falling food, housing and transport prices, continue to weigh on the overall index with the IMF forecasting a CPI contraction of 0.7% in 2016.

In monthly terms, the CPI grew 0.7% in June, speeding up from a mere 0.1% m/m rise the preceding month.

Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices (20.6% of the basket) rose 0.3% m/m in June (down 2.4% m/m in May) on favourable seasonal factors and low import inflation. The annual deflation thus narrowed to 1% y/y from 3.2% in May.

Transport prices (13% of the basket) rose 1.2% m/m in June as the government upped fuel costs, cutting the annual decline to a still deep 6% from 6.3% y/y in May.

Housing charges (28.5% of the CPI index) rose 1.4% m/m in June but shrank 1.9% y/y compared with a 4.7% y/y contraction a month earlier, again on falling utilities charges (down 8.1% y/y). Rent costs rose 3.7% y/y in June, accelerating from 3% y/y in May.

Clothing and footwear charges rose 6% y/y despite falling 0.2% m/m in June. Strong local demand lifted the recreation prices by 2.5% y/y in June.

Related Articles

Iraq holds talks with Excelerate Energy on buying first LNG from US

Iraq is in the final stages of negotiating its first-ever purchase of LNG supplies as power outages hamper the Middle East country, Bloomberg reported on June 26. Dallas-headquartered Excelerate ... more

Reformist Kamil al-Tayeb Idris appointed as Sudan’s new Prime Minister

Sudan’s Sovereign Council head, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, issued a constitutional decree on May 19 appointing Kamil al-Tayeb Idris as the new prime minister, Al Sharq Al Awsat reported. He also ... more

Egypt examines LNG supply offers from Saudi Aramco, UAE’s Adnoc, Algeria’s Sonatrach, and QatarEnergy

Egypt's state-owned gas company EGAS has received several offers to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments urgently needed for summer, Al Sharq reported on May 18, citing an unnamed government ... more

Dismiss