The Lebanese Energy Ministry raised the prices of fuel on Wednesday, for the second time in the past week.
In a decision numbered 182, the Energy Ministry’s General Directorate of Oil set the new prices as follows:
- 20 liters of 98-octane gasoline: LBP 209,300 (+60%)
- 20 liters of 95-octane gasoline: LBP 202,400 (+60%)
- 20 liters of diesel fuel for vehicles: LBP 162,700 (+66%)
Representative of the Syndicate of Gas Station Owners in Lebanon George Brax said in a TV appearance following the decision that the subsidization mechanism of fuel had transitioned from the exchange rate of LBP 12,000/USD to LBP 14,000/USD.
This mechanism is not final, Brax said, predicting that the total lifting of fuel subsidies would take place in this gradual manner.
Brax noted that importing companies would start to distribute fuel to gas stations later in the afternoon, affirming that lifting subsidies would not necessarily put an end to car lines at stations.
That, he explained, would depend on the availability of fuel in the local market, which, in turn, would require that the Central Bank of Lebanon grants the required approvals to importers.
The new rates come a few days after the Energy Ministry raised the prices of 95-octane and 98-octane gasoline.
