At Lebanon shops, mills and petrol pumps, fears of supply crisis grow

Machinery operates inside a mill in Beirut, Lebanon October 30, 2019. REUTERS/Eric Knecht

BEIRUT (Reuters) - When Yara Kabalan's weekly coffee delivery arrived at her Beirut minimarket on Tuesday against the backdrop of nationwide protests that have shut banks, it was not business as usual.

The bill was no longer in Lebanese pounds, it was in U.S. dollars. The supplier's policy had changed that morning: Kabalan must now pay dollars or else pay some 9% more in local currency based on an unofficial dollar exchange rate chosen that day.