Continuous jumps in fuel prices in Lebanon (Anatolia)
Gasoline prices were recorded in LebanonYesterday, Monday, an additional rise with the Central Bank entered the final stage of lifting the subsidy on the substance, which amounted to about 80 percent, which was quickly reflected in the schedule issued by the Ministry of Energy and Water.
rise Gasoline price 95 octane 12 thousand Lebanese pounds, bringing the price of the plate to 628 thousand Lebanese pounds, while the price of gasoline rose 98 octane 13 thousand Lebanese pounds, to reach the plate of 643,000 Lebanese pounds, while the price of diesel fell by two thousand pounds, to become the plate by 777 thousand pounds, and it also decreased The price of gas is two thousand pounds, to reach the bottle yesterday 341 thousand Lebanese pounds.
Final stage
A member of the Syndicate of Petrol Station Owners in Lebanon, George Al-Birx, said in a statement that the Banque du Liban continues to complete its path towards lifting indirect subsidies on the import of gasoline by securing part of this bill according to an exchange platform, provided that the importing companies secure the remaining part of the free exchange markets.
Al-Birx said: “The equation so far was 40 percent banking and 60 percent unsupported, but the Central Bank reduced in the fuel price synthesis schedule issued yesterday the banking ratio from 40 to 20 percent, and thus the unsubsidized percentage rose to 80 percent. It is clear that The Banque du Liban has only one final stage to stop securing the dollar through an exchange platform, to reach the equation of zero exchange and 100 percent, an unsupported free market.
A member of the Syndicate of Petrol Station Owners in Lebanon added, “In yesterday’s schedule: the dollar exchange rate rose according to the exchange platform by 400 pounds, i.e. from 27,200 pounds to 27,600 pounds. The parallel levy, which importing companies and stations must insure in cash, has decreased by 200 liras, i.e. from 35050 liras to 34,850 liras.
Accordingly, the Brix says: “The price of a 95-octane canister of gasoline increased by 12,000 pounds to 628,000 pounds, as a result of the equation between the decline in the price of an imported kiloliter, approximately 14 dollars, compared to the rise in the price of the dollar in banking and its decline in the parallel market. As for the price of a diesel canister, it decreased by 2000 pounds to 777,000 pounds as a result of an increase in The price of an imported kiloliter is 4 dollars, compared to a decrease in the exchange rate of the dollar according to the parallel market, 200 pounds, while the price of a gas bottle fell 2000 pounds to become 341,000 pounds.
A path that suffocates citizens
In turn, Head of Federations and Syndicates of the Land Transport Sector, Bassam Tlais, indicated in his interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that completely lifting the subsidy on gasoline and completely liberating it from the banking platform of the Banque du Liban, similar to what happened in other fuels, will inevitably lead to a significant increase that makes The price of the plate exceeds the barrier of 700,000 Lebanese pounds, a path that will inevitably suffocate the Lebanese citizen and public drivers.
Tlais points out that the final lifting of subsidies and, consequently, the increase in gasoline prices will inevitably be reflected in raising the public transport tariff, knowing that there is no official tariff today. This issue is entrusted to the Ministry of Works, which has explicitly declared that it cannot impose an official tariff in light of the instability of fuel prices and the dollar.
Tlais points out that the final lifting of subsidies, and consequently the increase in gasoline prices, will inevitably be reflected in raising the public transport tariff, knowing that there is no official tariff today.
He adds: It is impossible to issue a daily tariff, and it would have been more useful for the government to implement the agreement that it promised to walk through, then we would have avoided all these crises.
The head of the Federation and Syndicates of the Land Transport Sector in Lebanon recalls that “we worked on a proposal to solve the transport crisis in light of the changing and rising prices of fuel and dollars, spare parts and maintenance, which gives the public driver a specific price lower than the market, with the allocation of maintenance allowance and spare parts for drivers 500 thousand. A Syrian pound per month, i.e. for each public tourist car, and the issuance of a tariff of 10 thousand pounds for taxi drivers (services) and 5 thousand pounds for (vans), but unfortunately the authority did not fulfill its promises, and in return it did not take measures to suppress violations of forging plates, and applications that infringe on the sector that It is unprotected.”
On the possibility of taking the strike route again, Tlais says that he is making contacts with colleagues and, in principle, a meeting will be held on Thursday, to proceed with the decision that departs from the meeting.