Lebanon reduces critical fuel subsidies amid petrol crisis

The move is likely to spike the price of petrol but is expected to temporarily ease the shortage crisis.

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister on Friday granted his approval for financing fuel imports at a rate higher than the official exchange rate, effectively reducing critical fuel subsidies amid worsening petrol shortages. The decision is likely to sharply increase the price of petrol – but is expected to temporarily ease the shortage crisis in the country. Lebanon is going through an unprecedented economic and financial collapse coupled with a dangerous political crisis. The developments pose the gravest threat to the small country’s stability since the end of its civil war three decades ago. The currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value since October 2019, trading at a record low of 16,450 Lebanese pounds to the United States dollar on the black market on Friday. The official exchange rate remains 1,507 Lebanese pounds to the US dollar.