BEIRUT, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Lebanon raised gasoline prices by 16% on Wednesday, the second hike in a week, cutting a subsidy on imported fuel which the new Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said the nation cannot afford.
Lebanon, which had already hiked fuel prices by 37% on Friday, is grappling with a deep economic crisis that has caused a currency collapse and left the cash-strapped government with a rising subsidy bill on a range of imported items, including fuel.
An energy ministry source said the new fuel prices were based on an exchange rate of 14,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, compared to an official rate of 1,500 to the dollar before the crisis erupted in 2019.
The new rate for calculating fuel prices matches the one announced by the central bank's foreign exchange platform, Sayrafa, on Tuesday although it remains below the parallel market where one dealer was buying dollars at 16,000 pounds... Read More