Tension is rising again in Lebanon after the local lira has further lost value against the US dollar in the last few hours, while the prices of bread and gasoline have risen throughout the country.
The media in Beirut report episodes of tension in various regions of the country against the backdrop of renewed popular protests following the rise in the price of basic necessities.
The bakers’ union has made it known in the last few hours that if supplies of raw materials from abroad, purchased in heavy currency, do not arrive, the ovens will stop producing bread within two weeks.
Similarly, the union of petrol stations yesterday warned of possible new blocks to the distribution of fuel in the coming days in view of a fuel rationing.
On the foreign exchange market, one dollar is now trading at 33,000 lire, a surprising negative record considering the fact that the dollar was traded at the end of 2019 at the fixed rate of 1,500 lire. The lira has lost more than 95% of its value in two years.
Lebanon has been in economic default since March 2000. The Lebanese banking system has failed and since then the control of capital in heavy currency has been effectively imposed on small and medium-sized savers.
The inflation rate as well as the unemployment rate continue to rise in a context of continuing social and political tension.
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Source From: Ansa
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