With the price of a can of gasoline in Lebanon exceeding the threshold of $30, concerned sources in the fuel sector confirmed that canceling or deducting the 300,000 lira fee imposed on the can is “not currently on the table.” The sources explained that taking any step of this kind requires first securing an alternative funding source through which the state can cover the expenses allocated for the salaries and increases of military personnel and public sector employees, for which the fee was originally approved to finance several months ago.
The sources indicated that the absence of financing alternatives at the present time means the continuation of the 300,000 liras fee during the next stage, especially since its implementation came in accordance with an explicit government decision to secure the revenues of the public treasury, which makes withdrawing from it currently impossible.
Regarding the future trend of fuel prices, the sources pointed out that the upward trajectory of the local market will remain directly linked to the continuing rise in global oil prices and the increase in the cost of imports, explaining that Lebanon continues to be quickly affected by any amendment to the purchase bill from abroad.
At the conclusion of their talk, the sources confirmed that any expected decline in gasoline prices locally will be limited to a decline in import costs and global prices, which in turn remain governed by rapid regional and international developments, most notably the war and escalation between the United States and Iran, which leaves fuel prices in the country vulnerable to further fluctuations without any indications of canceling the government fee.
