(João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Gas stations should be allowed to price fuel in US dollars "in order to avoid the confusion caused by fluctuation" of the Lebanese lira, Gas Station Owners' Syndicate spokesperson George Brax said Wednesday in a statement published by the state-run National News Agency.
Brax issued the statement shortly after a drop in fuel prices posted by the Energy Ministry.
The updated fuel prices are "unacceptable," said Brax, pointing out that there has been a discrepancy between the exchange rate at which the fuel prices were calculated — LL36,650 to the dollar — and that at which importers bought the fuel, which he said "exceeded LL38,100."
Brax decried the "large losses that will be incurred on the stations, exceeding LL25,000," for every 20 liters of gasoline due to this discrepancy. "The only solution is to allow stations to price gasoline in dollars," he added.
Fuel prices dropped on Wednesday morning following a slight rebound in the Lebanese lira rate against the dollar on the parallel market. The price of 20 liters of 95-octane gasoline, which had hit the LL700,000 mark on Tuesday, recorded a drop of LL47,000 Wednesday.
