According to the latest BDL statistics, Lebanon registered a balance of payments deficit of $114.4 million in June 2000, compared with the May surplus figure of $80.2 million, and a $12 million deficit in June 1999.
The June deficit resulted from a decrease of $154.3 million in the net foreign assets of the Banque du Liban, relative to the $39.9 million rise in those of commercial banks.
Net public debt 2.2 percent up in June 2000
Lebanon’s net total public debt rose 2.16 percent in June 2000, to $20.9 billion from $20.5 billion in May. Net domestic debt increased 2.71 percent to $15.47 billion, while external debt went up by 0.62 percent to $5.5 billion. On a year-to-year basis, net domestic debt increased 13.46 percent from $13.64 billion in June 1999, while external debt went up 25.87 percent from $4.4 billion.
Trade deficit widens in July
The High Customs Council revealed that the trade deficit increased by 1.94 percent to $472 million in July relative to the previous month. For the first seven months as a whole, the trade deficit was 4.85 percent narrower than for the equivalent period in 1999, and stood at $3.09 billion.
Exports for the year up to July 2000 amounted to $410 million, up 17.1 percent relative to the same period in 1999 — while imports in the first seven months of the year were $3.50 billion, compared to $3.59 billion a year earlier.
