Lebanon hikes fuel prices by 30% to shore up forex reserves
Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanon hiked fuel prices by more than 30 per cent Tuesday as it reduced subsidies that have eaten away at the central bank's foreign currency reserves (forex) amid a painful economic crisis.
Petrol and diesel prices went up sharply, according to a revised price list published by the official National News Agency (NNA), in a week when a steep currency devaluation sparked angry street protests.
The sharp fuel price rises came as Lebanon, a small country of six million people, grapples with an economic crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the world's worst since the mid-19th century.
The Lebanese pound – which has been pegged to the dollar at 1,507 since 1997 – sold for more than 17,000 to the greenback on the black market this week, a record low.
The price of 20 litres of 95-octane petrol shot up nearly 16,000 Lebanese pounds (US$10.6 at the official rate) to reach 61,000 pounds (US$40.6), according to NNA.
The price of the same amount of 98-octane petrol climbed by 16,300 pounds (US$10.8) to reach nearly 63,000 pounds (US$42).
Meanwhile, the price of diesel reached 46,100 pounds (US$30.7), up from 33,300 pounds (US$22.2).
The new prices came after weeks of long queues at petrol stations that had started rationing gasoline and diesel fuel amid shortages.
Fuel importers blamed the crisis on a delay by the central bank in opening credit lines to fund fuel imports due to depletion of foreign currency reserves.