Report: Consumer Prices Up 8% amid Protests

The Director of the Consumer Protection at the Ministry of Economy, Tarek Younes said that according to patrols conducted by inspectors from the ministry, the prices of basket of consumer goods and services rose by 6 and 8 percent, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat reported on Saturday.

Moreover, Nabil Fahd, head of the supermarket owners' association, told the daily "the rise in prices of some consumer goods is linked to several issues that preceded the dollar crisis.”

He said the “cost of interest on businesses has increased from 7.5 to 12 percent, and fees on credit card payments, which ranged from 0.85 to 1.25 rose to 2 percent, and then a 3 percent increase in tariffs on materials.”

Another increase he said affected “imports of consumer goods, and the customs duty ranging between 10 and 20 percent on some other imported materials such as (Cornflakes).”

Adding to the above, the shortage in dollar contributed to the rise in prices of some commodities, “but some commodities maintained the same price,” he said.

On Wednesday, the World Bank urged protest-hit Lebanon to form a new government quickly, warning that an economic downturn would deepen poverty and worsen unemployment.

Since October 17, an unprecedented protest movement has targeted a political class deemed incompetent and corrupt. Demonstrations have continued despite the government's resignation last week.

Without quick steps to address the crisis, about half of Lebanon's population could fall into poverty and unemployment could "rise sharply", the lender said in a statement.

Even before protests erupted last month, growth in Lebanon had stalled following repeated political deadlocks in recent years, compounded by the war in Syria.

Public debt stood at more than $86 billion, or higher than 150 percent of Gross Domestic Product, according to the finance ministry.

Petrol stations owners said they would meet Thursday over persistent difficulties in paying for hydrocarbon imports due to dollar shortages.