According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), Lebanon’s average inflation rate rose by 4.61% by May 2017 compared to May 2016.
The average costs of “Housing and utilities (water, electricity, gas and other fuels)” constituting a combined 28.4% of the Consumer Price Index or CPI rose by 6.97% year-on-year (y-o-y) by May 2017. In details, “Owner-occupied” rental costs, which grasped 13.6% of this category, rose by 3.97% y-o-y. As for the average costs of “Water, electricity, gas, and other fuels” (11.8% of the Housing & utilities component), they increased by an annual 14.85% by May 2017.
In turn, the average price indices for “Food and non-alcoholic beverages” (constituting 20% of the CPI), “Transportation” ( grasping 13.1% of the CPI), and “Education” costs (6.6% of CPI) registered yearly upticks of 2.63%, 7.04%, and 2.68% by May 2017. However, average “Health” costs (7.7% of the CPI) slipped by 1.52% y-o-y over the same period.
In May 2017, the CPI grew by 4.29% compared to May 2016. The increase was driven by respective annual up ticks of 4.61% and 5.34% in the costs of “Housing and utilities” and “Food and non-alcoholic beverages”. “Utilities” alone rose by an annual 9.67% in May which may be attributed to the recovery in oil prices by June 2017, while “Clothing and Footwear” recorded a 15.06% y-o-y rise.
Monthly Inflation Rate
Source: CAS