Lebanon increases fuel prices by 70% amid severe shortages
Beirut, Aug 22 (EFE).- Lebanon increased the price of fuel by 70% on Sunday, one day after the government agreed to continue subsidizing oil imports amid a crippling shortage.
In a statement, the energy ministry said the new prices are 129,000 Lebanese pounds per 20 liters of 95-octane gasoline, a 66% increase compared to the previous price list issued on August 11.
The 98-octane gasoline price was raised by 67%, from 79,700 to 133,200 Lebanese pounds, while diesel vehicles soared from 58,500 to 101,500 pounds, a 73% increase in just 10 days.
At an emergency meeting on Saturday, Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab, and central bank governor Riad Salame reached an agreement that the country would continue to subsidize fuel at an exchange rate of 8,000 pounds to the dollar, up from the previous rate of 3,900.
On August 11, Salame announced that the central bank would no longer subsidize fuel imports, worsening the fuel crisis Lebanon has been passing through for over two months.
Lebanon is grappling with a political deadlock as well as its worst economic crisis since its years-long civil war ended in 1990.EFE
njd/smq/ks
