Lebanon Inflation Rate at 19-Month High
2026-05-21 08:55
By
Erika Ordonez
1 min. read
The annual inflation rate in Lebanon rose to 20.0% in April 2026, accelerating from 17.3% in the previous month.
This marked the highest reading since September 2024, mainly driven by faster price growth in housing and utilities (26.3% vs 20.3% in March), transportation (33.3% vs 24.8%), clothing and footwear (4.9% vs 2.4%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (10.6% vs 8.7%), furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance (6.1% vs 5.1%), restaurants and hotels (16.0% vs 11.3%), and miscellaneous goods and services (15.1% vs 14.6%).
At the same time, costs remained steady for health (2.2%) and education (-35.7%).
Meanwhile, inflation moderated for food and non-alcoholic beverages (18.0% vs 19.4%) and recreation, amusement, and culture (42.2% vs 42.7%).
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 3.0%, easing from 4.9% in the previous month, which was the highest monthly increase since October 2023.