A line of motorists in front of a gas station in South Lebanon, Dec. 28, 2022. (Courtesy of: Mountasser Abdallah)
BEIRUT — Fuel prices on Thursday experienced a sharp increase after the Energy Ministry reverted to setting the prices at the parallel market rate, rather than Banque du Liban's exchange platform Sayrafa rate, the ministry announced in a statement.
Queues of motorists formed at gas stations across Lebanon on Wednesday during a sharp drop in fuel prices following the ministry's decision to set the prices at Sayrafa rate. That rate stood at around LL6,000 lower than the parallel market rate as of Wednesday.
The day's lowered prices pushed many gas stations to close in protest. Gas station owners’ syndicate spokesperson Georges Brax claimed Wednesday that the new prices caused “losses of more than LL800,000 per tank of gasoline” for stations, reportedly due to the inability to procure dollars to cover fuel imports at the Sayrafa rate.
The Energy Ministry stated on Thursday that it had again adopted the parallel market rate "at the written request of the caretaker prime minister on Wednesday evening" and BDL. The ministry also explained that private banks have not been able to provide the necessary US dollars to gas stations.
Thursday's new fuel prices were as follows:
• Twenty liters of 95-octane gasoline: LL709,000, up by LL80,000.
• Twenty liters of 98-octane gasoline: LL729,000, up by LL83,000.
• Twenty liters of diesel: LL790,000, up by LL90,000.
• Gas cylinder: LL446,000, up by LL53,000.
• One kiloliter of fuel oil (used to supply private generators): $834.53, unchanged.
Following a long period of gasoline shortages, gas station closures and hours-long queues to refuel in the summer of 2021, BDL gradually removed fuel subsidies, thereby completely dollarizing fuel and issuing regular price adjustments matching the fluctuations in the lira-to-dollar exchange rate.