Lebanon Hikes Prices Of Fuel By 66%

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanese authorities hiked fuel prices by 66 percent Sunday after the caretaker Cabinet and the Central Bank altered temporarily the US dollar exchange rate of the platform from LL3,900 to LL8,000.

Based on these new rates, the Energy Ministry said the prices of 98 octane gasoline is now LL133,200, 95 octane gasoline is set at LL129,000, diesel is LL101,500 and household gas bottle is LL90,400, provided that the rest of the oil derivatives’ prices remain based on the price composition table issued on 11/8/2021.

The ministry stressed in another statement that oil companies, gas stations and distributors must sell their stocks according to the schedule of 8/11/2020, until they run out of stocks.

But most of the gas stations in the country remained closed Sunday despite the decision to hike the prices.

Observers noticed that some of the gas stations that had old gasoline stocks started selling gasoline at the new rates, prompting the Army to send patrols to these stations to force them to sell their stocks at the LL3,900 rates.

Gas station owners said they were waiting for the new shipment of gasoline from the oil importing companies.

The caretaker Cabinet and the Central Bank on Saturday allocated $225 million for the purchase of gasoline, diesel and gas and pledged to totally lift the subsidies at the end of September to give the authorities a chance to issue the long-awaited ration card to 750,000 families