In 2020, the world faced a substantial disruption due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an unprecedented 70% decline in global energy consumption during the initial months of the crisis. ... read more
The activity at Rafic Hariri International Airport improved in the second month of 2023 compared to the same month last year. In fact, the number of Beirut’s International airport passengers added 29.91% ... read more
The latest statistics on activity at the Port of Beirut show an annual decrease of 3.38% in the revenues of the Port of Beirut (PoB) to $9M by February 2022, compared to previous year’s $9.31M. We note ... read more
Year of 2022 witnessed a remarkable increase in tourist activity after two years of lockdowns and social unrest. The tourism sector re-picked by end of the year compared to years of 2020 and 2021 but ... read more
According to Lebanon’s consolidated commercial banks’ balance sheet, total assets decreased annually by 3.61% to stand at $167.96B by January 2023. Note that valuation in USD is still at the old official ... read more
According to BDL’s latest monetary report, the BOP recorded a deficit of $461.5M by January 2023, far exceeding the deficit over the same period last year of $353M. Accordingly, Net foreign Assets (NFAs) ... read more
In Azar and Bolbol, “An Empirical Note on the Desirability of a Reasonable Customs Dollar Rate”, Blominvest Bank Blog, Spotlights, August 26, 2022, the authors arrive at the following: The historical ... read more
According to the balance sheet of Banque du Liban (BDL), the central bank’s total assets fell by 37.49% compared to last year, to reach $101.89B by end of February 2023, amid adopting the 15,000 LBP/USD ... read more
According to the data revealed by “Rasamny Younis Motor sal”, Lebanese car market witnessed a significant uptick of 113.53% annually in the beginning of 2023. In fact, on a monthly basis, 647 cars were ... read more
In the Economic Digest published in this Blog on February 23, 2023, titled “Preliminary Observations on Lebanese Monetary Aggregates and Monetary Policy during the Crisis”, we mentioned that the Sayrafa ... read more
According to the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS), the Consumer Price Index (CPI), representing the evolution of goods and services’ prices consumed by households, revealed that Lebanon’s ... read more
According to the data published by the Association of Lebanese Banks’ (ABL), the total number of cleared checks in the Lebanese financial system slumped from 173,378 checks by January 2022 to 68,843 checks ... read more
Source: BDL; CAS; and Blominvest Bank We start with clarifying the variables in the tables above. CC is currency in circulation; M2 is CC plus LBP deposits; M3 is M2 plus USD deposits; and all in trillion ... read more
According to Ernst & Young Middle East hotel benchmark survey, the occupancy rate in Beirut’s 4- and 5-star hotels reached 48.7% percentage points (pp) by December 2022, up from last year’s percentage ... read more
According to the Ministry of Finance, transfers to Electricite du Liban (EDL) stood at $527.26M by November 2021, dropping by 34.9% compared to the same period last year. This was mainly a result of lower ... read more
The data released by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) recently indicated that Lebanon’s gross public debt hit $101.95B in October 2022, thereby recording an annual increase of 2.1% YOY. The rise is mainly ... read more
Banque du Liban (BDL) disclosed its biweekly interim balance sheet on February 15, 2023, painting the shift from the old official rate of 1,507.5 LBP/USD to the new official rate of 15,000 LBP/USD. Two ... read more
Million USD H1 2021 H1 2022 Current Account1: (2182) (3027.8) Trade in Goods (4368.9) (6229.9) Trade in Services 397.6 947.8 Labor remittances 2231.3 2325.1 Capital and Financial Account1: (1061.1) ... read more
The activity at Rafic Hariri International Airport improved remarkably in January 2023 compared to the same period last year. In fact, the number of Beirut’s International airport passengers added 34.81% ... read more
Overall, total container activity including transshipment (TEU+TS) increased by a yearly 16.28% to stand at 715,099 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU); container activity (TEU) added 16.71% on a yearly ... read more
This (slightly technical) economic digest is prepared by Dr Samih Antoine Azar, Professor of Economics and Finance at Haigazian University. Menu costs are the costs of changing reported unit costs by a ... read more
Lebanon has been facing dire economic conditions started in the eruption of October 2019’s upheavals and the historical devaluation of the Lebanese currency followed by the State default on its sovereign ... read more
Disclaimer The content of this blog is for information purposes only. The information herein has been compiled from, or based upon sources we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee or accept responsibility for its completeness or accuracy. This document should not be construed as a solicitation to take part in any investment, or as constituting any representation or warranty on our part. The consequences of any action taken on the basis of information contained herein are solely the responsibility of the recipient.
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