The Lebanese caretaker government, Hassan Diab, agreed to secure the financing of fuel imports on the basis of a pricing of 3900 Lebanese pounds to the dollar instead of 1500 pounds to the dollar, based on Article 91 of the Monetary and Credit Law.
Diab explained - in a statement today (Friday) - that this decision came with the aim of securing fuel for citizens for the next three months, especially at the gates of the summer season that will allow an increase in the value of hard currencies that will come to Lebanon with the arrival of expatriates and tourists, with the resulting positive results. .
He stressed that this decision came in conjunction with the approval of the financing card in the joint parliamentary committees in preparation for its approval in a general parliamentary session next week, and in the context of contributing to overcoming the crisis the country is going through, which will help control the process of buying the US dollar in the parallel market, according to what was stated in the directorate’s book General of the Presidency of the Republic.
The decision of the caretaker prime minister entails raising the price of fuel in an unprecedented manner, as the pricing of petroleum derivatives is currently based on the official dollar price, estimated at 1,500 pounds, while the price of the dollar in the unofficial market exceeded 15,500 pounds per dollar.
The exchange rate was set to be 3900 pounds to the dollar, given that this rate is set by the Central Bank of Lebanon to calculate the value of deposits of foreign currency deposits in Lebanese banks.
Prior to today’s decision, the Lebanese Ministry of Energy and Water had decided to significantly raise the prices of liquid fuel, starting from yesterday, Wednesday, bringing the price of the plate (the can equal to 20 liters) of 98-octane gasoline to 46,600 Lebanese pounds, while the price of a can of gasoline 95 reached 45,200 Lebanese pounds, and the price of diesel was recorded. 33,300 pounds, the increase in the price of a 95-octane canister of gasoline reached 1,700 pounds and 98 octane 1,800 pounds, while the increase in the price of diesel reached 1,600 pounds, and the price of a gas tube increased by 1,800 pounds to 28,400 pounds.
Yesterday, the Central Bank of Lebanon announced its readiness to lend to the government from the cash reserves in foreign currencies on conditions.
Lebanon is witnessing a worsening crisis in the provision of fuel, which has led to unprecedented crowding of gas stations and queues extending for hundreds of metres. The lack of fuel has also led to a shortage in the supply of government power stations that run on fuel, in addition to the inability of generator owners to compensate for the absence of electricity due to the lack of easily available diesel.
The caretaker government hopes that the new exchange rate will reduce the state’s support bill for petroleum derivatives, especially in light of the sharp decline in foreign currency reserves, while the Lebanese fear a surge in prices for all goods and services to deepen their shortage crisis.
Comments
Post a Comment