Today, September 12th, the Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL) officially lifted the subsidies on fuel imports completely, after they were gradually reduced during the past weeks.
This means that Lebanese will now have to pay the price of fuel cans in Lebanese pounds based on the black market exchange rate of the USD.
According to economists, fuel-importing companies will now resort to buying dollars from the black market, increasing the demand for US dollars and leading to a significant increase in the exchange rate on the black market.
In parallel to the Central Bank of Lebanon’s decisive decision, most of the gas stations may not open their doors this morning, pending the issuance of the new price schedule, which will see a slight increase in prices.
The representative of fuel distributors, Fadi Abu Shakra, confirmed to Annahar that the price won’t increase a lot after the lifting of subsidies because international oil prices are essentially declining, and therefore the price of a can of gasoline will not exceed 650,000 LBP.
This means that the Lebanese today are hostages to the fluctuations in global oil prices and the dollar exchange rate, with the absence of any serious rescue plan after three years of the economic crisis, at a time when it is estimated that nearly 80% of the population lives below the poverty line.
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