Inflation is soaring, though exactly how high is still a matter of debate

BEIRUT: Inflation figures have become a matter of considerable debate in Lebanon. The government says inflation is close to 10 percent, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh believes it is more than 10 percent, and some leading economists say it is 15 percent at least. Regardless of whose figures are more accurate, what can be concluded is that inflation is taking a painful bite out of consumer purchasing power. Officials and economists stress that price growth is a global phenomenon, adding that inflationary pressures are due to several factors: the continuing rise in oil prices, the depreciation of the US dollar against the euro in a dollarized economy that imports 60 percent of its needs from Europe, and climatic factors that have increase the prices of wheat and other grains in international markets. Ghazi Wazni, an... [read full story]