Fuel prices soar by a third in Lebanon

Lebanon’s government reduced subsidies as deliveries partially resumed

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  Anti-government protesters set up a mock petrol pump with inscription reading in Arabic 'Dignity Petrol Station' at the Tabaris road in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA

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  Lebanon is in the midst of an economic crisis. Dwindling foreign currency reserves have led to acute shortages of fuel, as well as other imported commodities. EPA

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  Fed-up motorists queue for fuel at a Beirut petrol station. In recent days, some have waited for hours only to find that supplies have run out when they reach the top of the queue. Reuters

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  Tensions among motorists waiting for petrol have sometimes led to scuffles, as Lebanon struggles to secure fuel supplies. Reuters

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  A petrol station worker fills up a customer's car in Beirut. The fuel crisis has also led to disruptions in vital infrastructure services, with more frequent power blackouts, water shortages and internet outages. Reuters

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  Motorcyclists wait in line for fuel at a Beirut petrol station. Fuel shortages have affected supplies for private generators that make up for state power rationing. Meanwhile, hospitals are also running low on medical supplies. Reuters

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  A queue at a Beirut petrol station. Lebanon remains without a fully functioning Cabinet, following a massive explosion at Beirut port that killed more than 200 people last August. Reuters

Lebanon’s government raised fuel prices by more than a third on Tuesday as subsidies were reduced.

Fuel deliveries to petrol stations across Lebanon partially resumed.

The move followed worsening gasoline and diesel shortages that have forced motorists to queue for hours at petrol stations across the country and private generators to reduce their power supplies, plunging many areas across Lebanon into darkness for hours.

Fadi Abou Chakra, head of the Lebanese fuel distributors' association, said fuel was being delivered to petrol stations on Tuesday after the unloading of six fuel shipments began late on Monday.

The new deliveries will reach consumers at a significantly higher price, with 20 litres of gasoline costing 61,100 Lebanese pounds ($39), up from 45,000 Lebanese pounds ($29), according to a price list released by the National News Agency on Tuesday.

The new fuel shipments are being financed by the central bank at a rate of 3,900 Lebanese pounds to the dollar instead of the official exchange rate of about 1,507. But the new rate remains well below the market rate of 17,000 pounds to the dollar, with the national currency having lost over 90 per cent of its market value since Lebanon’s worst economic and financial crisis in decades began in late 2019.

The crisis, which has plunged over half the population into poverty, has fuelled sporadic protests across the country and sparked scuffles and gun fights at gas stations as motorists try to fill up their tanks.

Lebanon’s Higher Defence Council ordered security forces to remain alert to maintain order and security ahead of the summer season, which officials hope will draw Lebanese expats and tourists and provide a much-needed boost to foreign currencies entering the crisis-hit country.

The economic and financial crisis was compounded by the massive Beirut port blast that killed over 200 people and destroyed thousands of properties across the capital last August. The blast forced caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s resignation and has since left Lebanon without a fully functioning cabinet.