Rolling summer blackouts weigh on Libya's struggling traders

A worker manufactures doors and windows of iron inside a workshop in Benghazi, Libya August 7, 2018. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori

BENGHAZI, Libya/TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Lengthy power outages have left tradesmen and small businesses in Libya struggling to survive in an economy already crippled by a liquidity crisis and high inflation.

For several years, power cuts lasting most of the day have become common across the North African country during the hot summer months, when air conditioning drives up electricity demand.