Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab agreed on a proposal to partially lift fuel subsidies after he was reportedly hesitant and reluctant to give his exceptional approval.
With this plan, which was proposed by the caretaker Finance Minister, gasoline imports will be financed at the exchange rate of 3,900 LBP rather than 1,500 LBP per 1 USD, “according to Article 91 of the Code of Money and Credit,” read a statement from Diab’s media office.
The statement added that the objective of securing fuel over the next three months is to allow hard currencies to enter Lebanon and boost tourism.
While this is expected to inevitably increase the price of fuel on the market, it will ease the gasoline crisis over the summer.
According to a statement from the Central Bank, the government must provide “explicit commitment” to return the money borrowed from the BDL as it will be borrowing/using mandatory reserves.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese pound recently hit an all time low value of 16,000 LBP/USD on the black market.
