Lebanon's inflation soars as the Lebanese lira face a 90% devaluation: report

According to an article published by Asharq Business with Bloomberg, the first official devaluation of Lebanon's currency in a quarter of a century sent consumer prices soaring in March, with food and beverage inflation exceeding 350 percent year-on-year. 

The article stated that the decision in February, which resulted in a 90 percent devaluation of the Lebanese lira, ended the "calm" to rising costs last year in Lebanon. 

Based on Asharq Business with Bloomberg, the inflation rate started to rise significantly in February and jumped by 264 percent in March on an annual basis, more than doubling since the end of last year, according to data released by the official Central Administration of Statistics on Tuesday. 

It stated that the financial crisis in Lebanon had been described as one of the worst in the world since the mid-nineteenth century, pushing three-quarters of the population to the brink of poverty, while the combination of triple-digit inflation and the currency's collapse decimated people's savings. 

According to the article, the price inflation has jumped to levels that were last seen during the civil war's aftermath three decades ago, with the price of the Lebanese lira falling on the black market, adding that with Lebanon suffering from a shortage of foreign exchange, inflation is likely to accelerate further as the lira plunges to new record lows and increase the cost of imports.