Lebanon: A citizen’s salary is equivalent to four gas panels
Lebanese woke up to a shocking news Wednesday morning as fuel prices skyrocketed, shocking citizens as they flooded social media.
The Ministry of Energy and Water issued a schedule for the sale of liquid fuel, raising the price of a 95-octane sheet of gasoline to 302,700 Lebanese pounds, and a 98-octane sheet of gasoline to 312,700 Lebanese pounds, increasing the price of a sheet of gasoline to 60,000 pounds at a time.
Citizens commented with shock on the increase in their daily bread, amidst expectations of a continuous rise in the coming weeks following the rise of the price of a barrel of oil worldwide. This is accompanied by a rise in the price of the dollar against the Lebanese pound, which is currently at its lowest level after the dollar exceeded the threshold of 20,000 pounds per dollar.
“Our monthly salary now equals four jerry cans of gasoline, and this increase will certainly cause a huge rise in the prices of consumer goods and food,” a government employee said.
The increase comes after the Central Bank of Lebanon secured dollars to import fuel at the exchange rate of the Sayrafa platform, which reached 20,000 pounds to the dollar. The price of fuel has risen internationally.
What did the owners of the distribution stations say?
George A., a member of the Depot Owners Association, said in an interview that it is a shock to the Lebanese citizen, and this is normal because of the burdens it carries.
“The responsibility does not fall on station owners, nor does it fall on the shoulders of the owners of fuel-importing companies,” he said. “The reasons are the rise in the price of a barrel of oil globally and the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar, and the prices of fuel are affected by these two factors.”
“Fuel prices will rise in the coming times as well because of the rise in global prices,” he said. “The rise in prices will be due to the deterioration of the black market price of the lira.”
“The price of oil reached $85 a barrel yesterday, and all expectations indicate that it will continue to rise, especially after the opening up, the reconnection between countries, the return of nearly normal air traffic, in addition to commercial activity among countries that also returned to normal after the coronavirus crisis, which increased the demand for oil,” George said.
Bankruptcy of citizens and stations… enough!
Lebanese vending machine representative Fadi Abou Shaqra said that “the spike in gas prices this morning (Wednesday) was a terrible blow to citizens and owners of the stations, God help citizens who do not know how to deal with the spike in prices”.
“The citizen’s salary has now become 4 jerry cans of gasoline, and we do not know of any price for the dollar,” Abou Shaqra said.
Abou Shaqra attributed this to “the decision taken by the Central Bank of Lebanon in agreement with the Ministry of Energy to change the dollar’s exchange rate from 16,000 to 20,000 pounds to finance the import of gasoline, which has contributed to this difference.”
“This measure will cause the owners of the stations, the oil sector and the Lebanese citizen to bankrupt together,” he said.
Prices vary among consuming countries as a result of the government subsidization policy for gasoline and the value of taxes. At the same time, all countries in the world buy oil at the same price, but after different taxes are imposed, the retail prices of gasoline vary from country to country.
With temperatures dropping, with winter approaching in the northern hemisphere and demand for fuel for heating up, oil, coal and natural gas prices are likely to remain high, analysts said.
Beirut has been witnessing a series of road blocks since the morning in protest against the rise in fuel prices.
