Gas stations shut down following radical decline in official price

Earlier on Wednesday, the official pricing for fuel and gasoline witnessed a significant drop after the Ministry of Energy adopted the new Sayrafa rate in its calculations mechanism instead of the black market rate; however, gas station owners across the country have halted their operations in protest of the new pricing.

Member of the Syndicate of Petrol Station Owners in Lebanon George Brax said that reducing official prices caused the stations to lose more than 80,000 Liras per can of gasoline.

“The Ministry of Energy issued a new price today, with the calculation of the dollar exchange rate according to the new Sayrafa rate of 38,000 LBP to the dollar. However, the stations were never able to obtain the dollar from the banks at such a rate and were forced to buy it from money changers at a price exceeding 44,500 LBP to the dollar,” Brax added.

Brax appealed to the Governor of the Central Bank and the Association of Banks either to open the doors of the banks immediately so that the station owners could exchange currencies at the new Sayrafa rate.

“The other solution would be reverting back to pricing gasoline using the black market rate and not Sayrafa. Thus, the Ministry of Energy is requested to issue a new pricing table as soon as possible,” Brax added.