Lebanese fuel prices are expected to double after the state decided Saturday to change the exchange rate used to price petroleum products in a bid to ease crippling shortages that have brought Lebanon to a standstill.
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Amounting to a partial reduction in fuel subsidies, the increase will mean more hardship in a country where poverty levels have soared during a two-year-long financial meltdown that has seen the Lebanese pound depreciate in value by over 90%.
The decision was made at an emergency meeting attended by the president, central bank governor, and other officials over a fuel crisis that has left Lebanon in chaos, paralyzing basic services and sparking daily melees as people scramble for fuel.
The fuel crisis worsened this month when the central bank said it could no longer finance fuel imports at heavily subsidized exchange rates and would switch to market rates. The government objected, refusing to change official selling prices, creating a standoff that left importers in limbo and caused supplies to dry up across the country.
