The Lebanese Energy Ministry raised the prices of gasoline on Friday morning.
In a decision numbered “180,” Energy Minister Walid Fayyad set the price of a 20-liter can of 95-octane gasoline at 174,300 Lebanese pounds, and that of a 20-liter can of 98-octane gas at 180,000 pounds.
Previously, 20 liters of 95-octane gas had been selling for LBP 126,400 (a LBP-47,900 increase), while the same amount of 98-octane gas was being sold for LBP 130,500 (a LBP-49,500 increase).
Gas stations across Lebanon are required to publicly display the new prices immediately, according to the decision.
In this regard, George Fayyad, President of the Association of Petroleum Importing Companies in Lebanon, said in a TV appearance that the subsidization of diesel fuel had officially been lifted, adding that the gasoline subsidy would end soon.
“Today, whoever has unsubsidized diesel fuel, such as facilities, can deliver, and whoever has old subsidized balances is obliged to hand them over to private institutions such as hospitals and mills and must provide proof that the goods had been delivered,” he said.
When the fuel subsidy gets entirely lifted, he noted, it becomes “a technical process” for companies to import goods and provide them to the market, as it had been for many years.
“However, the problem is that we do not know the effect when we want to bring dollars to pay at the dollar exchange rate, but the Banque du Liban is no longer related to the matter,” Fayyad added.
